Tesla's Giga Berlin Expansion Gets Environmental Authority Approval After Chancellor Scholz Voiced Aim For Brandenburg To Become European Hub For Elon Musk's Company

Tesla Inc’s TSLA expansion plans for its gigafactory in Germany have reportedly received approval from environmental authorities.

What Happened: The environmental authorities in the German state of Brandenburg, where Tesla’s gigafactory is located, have given the green light to the company’s expansion plans, Reuters reported.

The approval allows Tesla to create an asphalted logistics area for new vehicles, stairwells on its pressing plant, and an access guard, the report said.

The approval is key to the EV giant’s aim of doubling the plant's capacity for battery production to 100 gigawatt hours and car production to 1 million units annually.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came out in support of Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory expansion earlier amid protests by environmentalists and local residents. He expressed his desire for Tesla to develop in Brandenburg in the same way Ford did in Cologne.

Why It Matters: Environmentalists and locals have voiced against the proposed expansion. In May, several protestors attempted to storm the company's factory and even injured several police officers in the ensuing clash. Several protestors were taken into police custody over the incident.

In March, an arson attack on the factory caused a power outage and halted production for about a week. Far-left activist organization Vulkan Group claimed the attack and said it was spurred by environmental concerns.

As per Tesla’s first quarter report, the German factory currently has an installed annual vehicle capacity of 375,000 Model Y vehicles in addition to millions of battery cells.

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Photo courtesy: Tesla