Tesla Begins Production of Model Y in Europe

The electric car manufacturer Tesla has inaugurated its Gigafactory in Berlin (Germany), where the first deliveries of Model Y have begun.

United States, China, and now Europe. Tesla officially produces its first European cars starting this Tuesday, March 22, at the Grünheide factory in Brandenburg, near Berlin (Germany).

A European Model Y with short delivery times

This Gigafactory, or “Giga Berlin” as CEO Elon Musk calls it, manufactures the Model Y SUV. The company previously assembled this electric SUV in California or Shanghai (China), importing the units to Europe. Today, they are Made in Europe, and the first 300 units have been handed over to happy owners. But don’t expect a discount due to this logistical simplification.

Indeed, Tesla Model Y prices increased last week due to soaring raw material costs. The Long Range version, with a range of 533 km, starts at €62,990, missing out on the €2,000 bonus (previously available under €60,000). The Performance variant is priced at a minimum of €66,990, with the same 82 kWh batteries but a WLTP cycle range of 514 km per charge.

And unlike the Model 3, no endless waiting. While the sedan has demand up to 11 months before delivery, the delivery times for the Model Y are very short thanks to production in Europe. Performances are available from April, and Long Range models in May. Be aware that certain colors or optional wheels may delay delivery by 1 to 3 months.

An imminent Master Plan 3?

In August 2006, Elon Musk launched the “Master” plan for his future electric cars. Only the Lotus Elise-based Roadster was available at the time, but the idea of the Model S—which came out five years later—along with Superchargers and even the Model 3 was already germinating!

Then in 2016, the “Master Plan Part Deux” aimed to “expand the range of electric vehicles to cover all categories”. It added the goal of autonomous driving, “making money when not driving”, and creating solar panels linked to storage batteries.

The CEO won’t wait until 2026 for the third part. He has already shared some details about Part 3 of the Master Plan on Twitter. “Tesla’s main topics will be the scale to an extreme degree, which is necessary to shift humanity away from fossil fuels, and artificial intelligence”, he revealed on social media. He also mentioned that SpaceX rockets and The Boring Company’s tunnels will be included.

In reality, the January report on 2021 results already discussed these themes. Elon Musk has postponed the launch of new models (thus Part 2) to ensure large-scale production (Part 3). The Cybertruck and small Tesla models will wait, giving the brand time to surpass one million units per year, potentially reaching 2.5 million by 2024.

Also read: Tesla heads for a second factory in China