Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated Tuesday 12 November the electric automaker will construct its European Gigafactory in Berlin.
Musk made the comments when he was getting a Golden Steering Wheel Award at a ceremony in Germany, according to media reports.
“There’s not enough time tonight to tell all the information,” Musk stated during an on-stage interview with Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess. “But it’s in the Berlin area, and it’s close to the new airport.”
Musk stated Tesla is also going to open an engineering and design center in Berlin, saying the city has “some of the best art in the world.” He stated part of the decision behind selecting Germany for the Gigafactory is the level of engineering in the nation.
“Everyone is aware that German engineering is outstanding and that’s part of the reason we’re locating our gigafactory Europe in Germany,” Musk stated.
According to a report, European countries had been pulling out all the stops to get Tesla to construct the next Gigafactory in their country. Musk reportedly stated in 2018 that Germany was in the lead, mentioning the border of Germany and France as a fine location.
In a Tweet, Musk didn’t give much in the way of information other than to write “GIGA BERLIN.”
The gigafactory in Berlin will mark the fourth for the electric automaker. The company declared when it reported quarterly earnings that it finished its Shanghai Gigafactory ahead of schedule. It prepares to build Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the Chinese market in that facility.
Before verifying the Shanghai Gigafactory was complete, leaked photos made the rounds online, showing Tesla carrying out trial assembly runs of the Model 3. At the end of May, it was open for pre-orders for the Model 3 in China. Orders are generally delivered six to ten months after pre-orders open. Its other manufacturing operations can be found in Buffalo, New York, close to Reno Nevada and in Fremont, California.
