Tesla is big on scale. The company may have started small, but it’s been consistently working on expanding — both by increasing the number and geographic distribution of its factories, and by increasing individual plants’ size and capacity. Having already done the former in Europe by building a German manufacturing facility, it seems Tesla is preparing to do the latter.
The company has long been planning to expand its Giga Berlin factory, but now that project is beginning to move into new phases. Today, Tesla will hold a Q&A session for local residents to discuss the automaker’s expansion plans — the next step towards kicking off construction. Reuters has the scoop:
Tesla on Tuesday said that the planned expansion covers a new 700 by 700 metre production space and that it was possible to increase the plant’s staff to 22,500 in the future, from around 10,000 now.
Citizens will be able to ask Tesla workers questions on a range of topics covered in its application to authorities for the expansion, from water usage and emissions to working conditions.
Local environmental groups have expressed several concerns over the electric vehicle (EV) plant from the impact of tree-felling to its water usage.
Tesla has long argued the plant’s impact is relatively low and pointed to the benefits of EVs in combating climate change.
The climate change defence is an interesting one from Tesla, considering the company’s CEO has recently begun to deny the phenomenon on his decaying social network. Whether that stance will come up during the Q&A session, as a question of the company’s commitment to climate action, remains to be seen.
If you’re local to Brandenburg, Germany, you may want to head over to Tesla’s Q&A event. Sure, the proposed plant expansion may not affect you, but it very well might — you won’t know until you check it out.