Elon Musk At Giga Berlin: “Tesla’s Mission Is To Accelerate The World To Sustainable Energy”

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Tesla, which started out as an automotive company that was mocked and jeered at by legacy auto, officially opened its factory in Berlin today. Tesla has become the leader of the automotive industry, and it’s still notable that the company has opened its newest factory in the heart of an industry that long laughed at Tesla and presumed it would fail.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took the stage and delivered a speech that started with:

“Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”

There was a little bit of a technical adventure that had Elon reading in German for a moment. The crowd, of course, loved it. Switching back to English, Elon said:

“We need to scale, dramatically, electric vehicles. So what this factory is about is creating high-volume, affordable electric cars. And hopefully also battery packs. Maybe solar.

“But, generally, the overarching goal is to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. That’s what this whole place is about and we intend to have a beautiful factory that’s in harmony with the surroundings and helps accelerate the world’s transition to a sustainable energy future, which is what we all want.

“And that’s why we’re building the Model Y. It’s a great car. Obviously, we tried it out.”

Interesting Products

Elon also said that Tesla had lots of interesting products coming. Someone asked about a European Cybertruck and Elon mentioned a few challenges, including permits, but added that maybe a smaller version could be made for Europe. He added that citizens could petition regulators to allow it and if it was allowed, Tesla could bring the Cybertruck to Europe.

“There’ll be other interesting vehicles and products from Tesla that I think are really exciting. … I need to get around to that electric leaf blower that I promised.”

Importance Of Multilayer Paint

Elon also said that he thinks that the Model S Plaid should be coming to Europe in the next quarter, and also gave some information about special colors.

“There’s going to be a special crimson, but the way that you do the colors, I think, is kind of important. You need to have a multi-layer paint system that’s going to be designed into the paint. The paint shop has to build it in so it’s a very multi-layer paint. It’s more than just the color, basically. You want dimensionality to the paint, which you can only get if you have multiple layers.”

Battery Recycling & Jobs

Elon added that Tesla will have battery recycling but that he expects the batteries to last for a very long time.

“‘Ultimately, the materials can be recycled, basically infinitely.”

Elon expects that Giga Berlin will create at least 12,000 or more jobs.

“I’m a little worried we won’t be able to hire enough people. So we really kind of need great talent to come here from all around Europe or anywhere and help us create the new future.”

Elon also promised to replant more trees — well over what Tesla removed — and will use the minimum amount of water. He noted that the factory uses very little water. To make it easier for employees to come to work, Tesla will be building a train station for people coming from Berlin to the factory, which will give workers living in Berlin the option of driving or taking the train.

County Fair & Rave

Tesla is holding a county fair event for the grand opening of Giga Berlin and the best part is that this is a win for clean energy. Tesla’s mission is something that this world needs to help us refocus from fossil fuels to clean energy, and what better way to remind the world of the importance of sustainability than throwing a fair and a rave? At the rave part of the event, Boris Brejchea was DJ-ing.

Tour Of Giga Berlin

Twitter user @DerCasper shared a tour of Tesla’s Giga Berlin on Twitter. Starting with a photo of the inside of the factor, then on to robots, Tesla’s massive casting machine and the casting process, and on to a vehicle body in white. He noted that the entire process has 445 robots. He also shared that the Model Y has the newest technology starting at the end of the year and will have new cells along with a front and back single casting.

Next, he showed us the painting process, which uses 50% less water than Tesla initially planned. So much for the water FUD. He also shared a video of 4860 battery cells. You can view the entire Twitter thread here.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider