Tesla commences construction of world's largest battery factory plant near Berlin
Tesla has commenced construction of what CEO Elon Musk has said will be the world's largest battery-cell manufacturing plant just south of the German capital, Berlin.
The so-called "gigafactory" is being constructed in a forested area of Grünheide and is due to begin operations at some point next year and will have an annual capacity of 250GW.
Giga Berlin will be the company's first major venture in Europe and is expected to be responsible for 300,000 Model 3 and Model Y's per year.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously announced his intentions to halve battery prices within the next three years in order to make electric vehicles - specifically, those manufactured by Tesla - more affordable.
The American company recently teamed up with French renewable energy company Neoen to build a lithium-battery plant in the Australian outback.
Read more: Tesla Makes It Onto The S&P 500 Index As Stock Prices Skyrocket
His ultimate ambition is to manufacture an electric vehicle with a retail price of around $25,000 (€21,370).
The project was announced at the European Battery Conference on November 24. At the event, Musk told an interviewer: “I think it will be the largest. It would be capable of over a 100GWh hours per year of production and then possibly going to 200 or 250.”
Electric vehicles are set to dominate the market by 2050, even if two-thirds of automotive fleets will still be powered using traditional petrol combustion engines.
They are expected to own a 25% market share in the Chinese automotive market by 2025 and are predicted to double these figures by 2035.
The UK has already proposed a total ban on petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, in a bid to reach its climate goals and to become completely carbon-neutral by 2050.
Volvo's CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, echoed similar sentiments at the FT Future of the Car Summit last Wednesday and supported the UK's decision.
Read more: Germany's Electric Vehicle Stimulus To Extend Until 2025
Musk announced his intention to launch a smaller hatchback catered to the European market.
He told the conference traditionally-sized US-style cars tend to struggle for parking spots in Europe, which inspired the idea.
Tesla was taken to court earlier this year after locals sued the company for deforestation to build the new gigafactory.
German courts ruled in the company's favour to clear the required 91 hectares of trees to make way for the site.
Musk assured environmental activists there would be little to no pollution from the site owing to battery production at the factory.
The factory is expected to create at least 40,000 new jobs in the area, however, the 2.3 million-strong IG Metall labour union has targetted Musk owing to his refusal to adhere to strict wage guidelines that are commonplace in social democracies such as Germany.
The union is threatening the Tesla CEO with strikes unless Musk comes to the table after ignoring the union seeking an agreement.
Tesla is also yet to acquire permits for the gigafactory, according to the Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment, which would involve a standard application.
The Ministry has yet to receive Tesla's application, which is then subject to further approvals, according to Grünheide's Mayor Christiani, and could further hamper construction efforts or give locals and governments more ammunition to levy against the automaker.
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