Most of the several hundred Model Ys seen on the site in the past few weeks, ahead of the approval for Tesla’s German factory in Grünheide near Berlin on Friday, were of the performance type. With this top variant, deliveries from the new Gigafactory are said to begin before the end of March, while Model Y Long Range (LR) for Europe should be imported from China for a while. But this may not be the case for much longer following the delays so far: at least four Model Y in the LR version have also already been produced in the German factory.
4 Model Y Long Range “with no radar”
In this case, that did not emerge from one of the drone videos that kept coming rows of new Model Y on the site of the German Gigafactory show (see the photo above from this Sunday), but was reported to the blog Drive Tesla Canada: Last week the first Model Y LR were produced in Grünheide, he reports citing unnamed sources. As can be seen from photos, there were apparently at least four pieces. Even the end of the four Model Y’s vehicle identification numbers can be seen in a photo that appears to show a production instruction.
“Long Range Vehicles” is clearly underlined and capitalized. “4 vehicles in a row with no radar and no spoiler” can be read in German and less awkwardly in English. Further photographed Tesla information on one of the Model Y shows that the battery with the code 43 is in it. It should be the variant with cells from LG Energy Solutions and 79 kilowatt hours of net capacity Tesla since this year for the production of Model Y in China for Europe used.
BREAKING: Giga Berlin produces first Tesla Model Y Long Range vehicles. https://t.co/0HTXhW4XyA
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 5, 2022
According to Drive Tesla Canada’s report, the test should show whether the production lines need to be modified in order to be able to produce both performance and LR versions. He should have gone very well and without major delays. In this respect, the LR variant might follow the first Model Y Performance delivered from Germany relatively soon. According to the state government on Friday Tesla wants to do the acceptance tests within two weeksthat are still required following approval. It was previously reported that the handover of the first 30 Model Y from the new Gigafactory with Musk and political celebrities was planned at the end of March.
German Tesla factory is said to still have problems
However, the Automobilwoche reported on Sunday regarding “enormous problems when starting production” in Grünheide. The main difficulties are caused by the paint shop, and so far no salable Model Y has been produced. Together with a corona outbreak in the factory in mid-February, this might mean that the start-up of ready-to-sell electric cars will be delayed by another two to three months. writes the magazine and refers to corporate circles. In mid-February, the first close-ups of a Model Y from the Gigafactory near Berlin published, on which some sheet metal and parts actually did not seem to sit properly.