Tesla has received approval for the expansion of Gigafactory Berlin, its production facility in Germany. The approval came after a meeting between community members and local officials held on Thursday in the Hangelsberg district of Grünheid.
The meeting took place under police protection due to ongoing protests against the expansion since the weekend. During the meeting, community members expressed their concerns about the factory’s expansion, while local officials chose to approve Tesla’s wishes.
Some community members expressed concerns about the violation of Basic Law and human rights, while others voiced support and appreciation for the local firefighters and emergency responders. Discussion during the meeting included concerns about built vehicle and inventory storage, future capacity plans, and the use of rail for logistics instead of traditional on-road transportation.
It was mentioned that the expansion would be supplemented by 40,000 employees and potentially two million units of annual capacity in the future. Currently, the installed capacity sits at half a million vehicles annually.
Local residents’ opinions were taken into account, with over 300 comments considered. There were two separate votes held, one for an Urban Development Contract and another for the Expansion itself.
In both cases, 11 out of the 19 present voted in favor, including the Mayor, Arne Christiani.