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Tesla Gigafactory 4 opens vast opportunities for Germany's young workers, says minister
As Tesla awaits the green light to begin ground clearing on the Gigafactory 4 site in Grünheide in the Oder-Spree district, Economics Minister of Brandenburg Jorg Steinbach expressed his excitement about the positive impact that the upcoming electric vehicle facility will bring to the region.
“I am optimistic that young people from all over Germany and far beyond want to take part in this project,” Steinbach said in an interview with German publication Der Tagesspiegel. The minister added that it will be a win-win situation, with Tesla selling electric cars in the region and the community getting future-proof jobs that offer excellent working conditions and good wages.
The Gigafactory in Eastern Germany will rise on a 741-acre property and is projected to produce 250,000 vehicles per year during its initial phase and will eventually ramp up to 500,000 units and then 750,000 annually. The facility is expected to initially generate jobs for 4,000 people working in three shifts.
Aside from the all-out support of the government, locals also welcomed recent developments.
“It’s magnificent; it’s like Christmas coming early for our region. The region is not particularly known for its strong industry, so getting a Gigafactory will push future-oriented technologies such as battery production and autonomous driving,” said Carsten Bronstrup of Unternehmensverbände Berlin-Brandenburg (UVB), an association of companies in Berlin and Brandenburg.
Bonstrup emphasized how Tesla can help generate thousands of jobs if the plan materializes. The UVB representative also described how competition can help local car manufacturers explore new technological advances to help stand their ground.
Last week, the Economics Minister said that the deal between the electric carmaker and the German government is 95% secure and he expects the signing of the Gigafactory 4 contract to happen during the next few weeks. Tesla is still awaiting the approval of the Brandenburg state parliament’s budget committee. There’s also a pending review from the State Office for the Environment that will give the green light if Tesla is in accordance with the region’s Federal Emission Control Act.
With Teslas landing on the backyard of automotive giants such as BMW and Volkswagen, the local car manufacturers will definitely feel the pressure. As the U.S. electric car manufacturer proved in its Gigafactory 3 in China, it can turn barren land into an efficient production line in roughly 10 months. If all legal and environmental requirements will be ironed out soon, we may very well see the same thing happen in Germany. And if that will be the case, Tesla might just improve its share of the EV market in Europe.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
