Tesla is allowed to remove trees on the grounds near Berlin where the American car manufacturer wants to build its first European ‘giga factory’, a German court decides on Thursday evening. The construction of the plant was delayed by a few days after environmental activists filed a lawsuit against Tesla, because the logging would harm nature.
The factory in Grünheide is to become Tesla’s fourth so-called giga factory, where electric cars and batteries can be built on a large scale. Two other large factories are located in the United States, while a third is built in Shanghai, China.
Formally, Tesla is still waiting for permission to build the factory: all preparatory work is at Tesla’s own risk. The tree felling received permission before, but was successfully challenged. The new result is final and cannot be changed.
The construction fulfills a year-long wish of the American car manufacturer. Since mid-2017, Tesla has wanted a so-called gigafactory in Europe. For years, Musk was eagerly looking for the “perfect location” and considered multiple offers from several EU member states, including the Netherlands, but ignored campaigns from Groningen, among others.