The Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin celebrates its first candle. It was on March 22, 2022 that Elon Musk inaugurated the first European factory of the American firm with great fanfare, including a few dance steps that went viral on the Internet. And what could be a better occasion than a birthday a new production record?

The manufacturer announced the record by posting a short video on Twitter. This 28-second video shows the making of the Model Y as it rolls off the assembly line to finish in front of a cheering crowd. In this video, Tesla also provided important information: “Giga Berlin reaches 5,000 electric cars produced per week, one year later and first deliveries to customers”.

Giga Berlin reaches 5,000 assemblies per week — a year after delivering the first cars to customers pic.twitter.com/PZigSaSci5

—Tesla (@Tesla) March 25, 2023

On the way to half a million

In this way, Tesla is getting closer to its goal 500,000 cars per year. To date, we can say that the first step has already been taken, as the German plant has exceeded 260,000 units, which is more than half of the final goal. And achieving this ambitious goal probably won’t take long. Last month, Tesla already reached a pace of 4,000 cars per week.

Tesla seems to be doing well, especially in Europe, even if we’ve recently seen a fairly new phenomenon at the manufacturer: having a large inventory of cars, both new and used. It is enough to imagine a slight slowdown in demand after the last two successful years.

At the same time, it seems that Tesla is not done with German environmental associations. Strongly opposing the construction of the Berlin factory, the developer has to deal with a series of acts of vandalism by certain individuals.

Tesla under the crosshairs of environmentalists

A Tesla store in Berlin recently drew the ire of some environmentalists because the sign was completely covered in paint. This is stated in the “indictments” published on Twitter with confirming photos and videos Tesla is guilty of excessive water consumption (as in Texas). The associations demand the cessation of all operations.

🚩 Action before them #You are here-Store in Berlin +++ Driving For A Burning Planet

1️⃣ Die E-Autos sind eine Wasser-Katastrophe und somit ine dreckige Lüge!

2️⃣ Die Autoproduktion und der Ausbau des Werks bei #Berlin must be stopped! pic.twitter.com/Nu4lRMEbC8

— [IL*] Berlin (@IL_Berlin) March 21, 2023

“Electric cars are a disaster for water and a dirty lie! The expansion of factories in Berlin must stop”they call on environmentalists, who then turn to the responsibility of local elected officials: “They need to focus more on public transport and less on industry”.