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Activists have previously held up construction at the site in Grünheide, Germany.
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Tesla’s gigafactory under construction in Germany is likely to be approved to start producing cars next year, according to reports.
The premier of Brandenburg, where the Tesla TSLA, -3.47% factory is being built, told Bloomberg News that he expects there to be no major issues in the run up to the plant getting the final go-ahead.
Elon Musk’s first factory in Europe is part of his plan to bring high-tech electric cars to the doorstep of the German automotive industry. The first vehicles, Tesla Model Y electric SUVs, are scheduled to be shipped out from the plant next summer.
Read more on the history of the plant: Bombs, bats, ants and now trees — Tesla’s big green hurdle in Germany
“As of now, I know of no problem that would stand in the way of the construction permit,” Premier Dietmar Woidke told Bloomberg, adding that he assumed “a legally sound permission is possible here.”
Musk visited the site, near Berlin, under construction in September and said it would become “the most important car factory in the world.”
Tesla has poured billions of dollars into Germany, home to auto maker rivals like BMW BMW, -0.92% and Volkswagen VOW3, -2.26% that are themselves racing to develop new electric vehicles.
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BMW and Volkswagen have partnered with one of Tesla’s rivals, Northvolt, which this week raised an additional $600 million from Goldman Sachs and the chief executive of Spotify SPOT, -1.11%, among other investors. The investment will be used to fund building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery recycling facility, as well as research and development.
Activists have previously held up construction at the Tesla site in Grünheide. Work was paused in February after an appeal by environmental group Green League Brandenburg, which raised concerns that the factory could contaminate local drinking water. Public hearings over the plant are ongoing, and local residents have also cited issues with traffic and noise.
Data on Tesla’s third-quarter deliveries — a number that is a proxy for sales — posted on Friday show that the electric car company beat expectations, which had been lowered over the past week. Tesla said it delivered 139,300 vehicles in the quarter.
