Not only did German officials tell the IG Metall labor union that Tesla is ready for a significant boost in production, but they are also the folks strongly encouraging it. In a time when the demand for EVs, and more specifically, the demand for Tesla's EVs is in question in various areas across the globe, the German Economic Minister appears to be pushing Tesla to produce more EVs.
Giga Berlin has been open for many months now, and the production ramp has been ongoing, as expected. However, we do know that many cars were still imported from Tesla China's Giga Shanghai factory in 2022. We also know that Tesla's vehicles sold exceedingly well in Europe, to the point that records were set on multiple occasions.
According to Teslarati, Jörg Steinbach, the Economic Minister of the state of Grünheide, along with other German officials, met with the union and shared that Giga Berlin should ramp up production. The minister said, “[Tesla production] has to grow up a bit more.” He must be confident Tesla is ready for the task, and the publication believes it's due to recent expansions at the site, as well as the recent hiring of more employees.
Based on various reports, Tesla has been bringing in an average of 200 to 300 new workers at Giga Berlin each week. The total number of employees is said to have reached around 9,000. The automaker also recently cleared land for planned expansion projects at the site, and opened areas for waste disposal and recycling.
Giga Berlin has been working on hiring for many months now, and there have been reports about struggles to find and keep workers. The union has become involved on some occasions, as Tesla employees have reportedly visited IG Metall's local office to report on developments and concerns at the factory.
The Tesla Model Y is exceedingly popular in Europe, and it's actually the only model Giga Berlin is currently manufacturing. Eventually, Tesla will also produce the Model 3 at the factory, though it's not been made official whether any other Tesla EVs will be built at the German site.
Now that Tesla has reduced prices in many areas across the globe, including Europe, demand is rising quickly, and inventory is dropping. While reports suggest Tesla is able to produce as many as 3,000 Model Y crossovers per week in Germany, it may not be enough going forward.
