Elon Musk: Tesla's European gigafactory will be in Berlin

US based electric supercar company Tesla is to construct its base of operations in Europe just outside the German capital, Berlin, according to company founder Elon Musk who made the long-awaited announcement on Tuesday.

Musk has been hinting at the idea of a European arm of Tesla since 2016, having previously suggested that somewhere around the Benelux border region would be suitable. The Berlin facility will be the company's fourth so-called gigafactory.

“Everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding, for sure. That’s part of the reason why we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany,” said Musk at the Golden Steering Wheel Award ceremony in Berlin, where the Tesla Model 3 beat off competition from the Audi A3 and BMW 3 Series to unexpectedly be named Germany's Midsize Car of the Year.

Musk also said that  “we are also going to create an engineering and design centre in Berlin, because Berlin has some of the best art in the world,” adding that the gigafactory would be located close to the new airport in Brandenburg.

Tesla announced that its European arm would be up and running by 2021 in its recent Q3 earnings report. IT said that the Model 3 saloon care would be built at the new facility, as well as the forthcoming Model Y crossover SUV offering.

The company's third gigafactory, in Shanghai, began operations yesterday. Both the facilities in China and the EU are intended to help Tesla tap into lucrative markets and sidestep potential export problems coming from global uncertainties and rising tensions.

Well away from Germany's traditional automotive heartland in the country's southwest, Berlin has begun to emerge as the Bundesrepublik's electromobility hub. As well as the planned Tesla gigafactory, the new joint venture between BMW and Daimler is based there, as it Volkswagen's ride-hailing group, Moia.

The federal German government has also begun making significant policy changes. Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country needed one million EV charging points by 2030.

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