The US electric car manufacturer Tesla has reached half of its first production target in Germany. At the plant in Grünheide near Berlin, 5,000 cars per week would now be manufactured, Tesla announced on Twitter on Saturday evening. This corresponds to around 250,000 vehicles per year. In the first stage of expansion, the company plans to roll off the assembly line 500,000 cars a year, i.e. around 10,000 a week.

Tesla has been manufacturing electric cars in Grünheide for about a year. Most recently it was around 4000 cars a week. Around 10,000 people work in the factory. After the first expansion stage, Tesla wants to expand the plant and then produce one million cars - the schedule for this is open.

The first application for partial approval has been submitted to the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment. Environmentalists have concerns about the expansion, part of the site is in a water protection area. According to the company, it does not need any additional water for the expansion because it wants to treat the wastewater.