EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA has kickstarted its own train shuttle, nicknamed the ‘giga train,’ for its employees at its Gigafactory in Berlin. And no, it is not electric.
What Happened: The train shuttle is capable of moving 400 people per ride and will allow employees to get to the factory from Erkner railway station near Berlin.
Tesla posted a short video of the train on X to people wondering about the choice of a diesel train instead of an electric train or even a hyperloop from CEO Elon Musk‘s Boring Company.
“Looks like it should be electric but I don't see any overhead wires. Surely it's not diesel,” a user wrote.
“It’s a 30 year old DMU built by a now bought out German train works. Still more efficient than a Tesla car,” another chided.
Tesla software engineer Romain Hedouin also posted a short video of a DJ on the train. “The DJ is my manager, Max,” he wrote.
Why It Matters: It was previously reported that the train will run about 60 times a day between Erkner railway station near Berlin to the one next to Giga Berlin five days a week- from Monday to Friday and enable the commute of over 1,500 employees per shift. It will also serve the general public free of charge.
Tesla acquired an existing track in Germany from the regional railway group Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn Group or DRE in January 2022 for the purpose of the shuttle. This was even before production commenced at Tesla's sole factory in Europe. Approvals for the shuttle were, however, received only earlier this year.
Photo by JHVEPhoto on Shutterstock
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