Tesla has put on hold plans to produce 100 percent of its batteries in Brandenburg, Germany, and will instead do some manufacturing in the United States, where tax incentives are more favorable, Brandenburg’s Economy Ministry said on Tuesday, according to Archyde.com .
Logo Tesla MotorsPhoto: J Hüttenhölscher, Dreamstime.com
The American automaker had originally planned to produce the entire battery at its Gruenheide plant in Germany, with a peak capacity of more than 50 gigawatt hours per year.
But with the United States offering tax breaks and consumer rebates to electric vehicle manufacturers that source batteries from within the United States, the company has changed tack.
“Tesla has started battery system production at Gruenheide and is preparing to manufacture battery cell components. The company has prioritized the later stages of production in the US, as tax incentives make business conditions more favorable there,” Brandenburg’s Economy Ministry said in a statement.
Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in March 2022 that the battery plant would reach volume production by the end of 2023, but the plant and the car manufacturing facility reached their goals later than planned.
In 2020, Musk said the Berlin platform would be the world’s largest battery factory.
Tesla has had trouble ramping up production of 4,680 battery cells at its factories in Fremont, California, and Austin, Texas, which experts attributed to new and unproven techniques the company has had trouble scaling.
It announced in late January that it would invest more than $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada complex with two new plants, one to mass-produce its long-delayed Semi electric truck and the other to manufactures its new 4680 battery cell.