Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla Inc.’s new gigafactory outside Berlin will be delayed by another six months and has slipped to January next year, according to a new report.
The German trade magazine Automobilwoche reported Sunday that production will not begin before the end of January 2022, and that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk officially gave approval for the six-month delay.
“The start of series production in Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Grunheide near Berlin has been delayed by six months until the end of January 2022. Tesla CEO Elon Musk officially gave the team half a year more,” reports the Automobilwoche.
According to the report, the regulatory approval for the project is part of the delayed timeline as Tesla reportedly notified authorities that it will modify its application.
The publication also stated that construction delays are also at play, including for the battery cell production facility that Tesla is building at the site.
Gigafactory Berlin is one of Tesla’s most important projects right now since it will bring the Model Y to Europe.
It will also introduce a new generation of electric vehicles using Tesla’s new structural battery pack technology with its new 4680 battery cell.
Originally, the start of production has been expected in July 2021, but the project has run into some issues.
“We’re building factories as quickly as we can. Both Texas and Berlin are progressing well, and we expect to have initial limited production from those factories this year and volume production from Texas and Berlin next year,” Musk said, recently.