Oct 8, 2021
Musk’s Plane Takes Off to Berlin Ahead of Tesla Plant Party
Bloomberg News
,![FUERSTENWALDE, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 03: Tesla head Elon Musk arrives to have a look at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 03, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is currently in Germany where he met with vaccine maker CureVac on Tuesday, with which Tesla has a cooperation to build devices for producing RNA vaccines, as well as German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier yesterday. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images), Photographer: Maja Hitij/Getty Images Europe FUERSTENWALDE, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 03: Tesla head Elon Musk arrives to have a look at the construction site of the new Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin on September 03, 2020 near Gruenheide, Germany. Musk is currently in Germany where he met with vaccine maker CureVac on Tuesday, with which Tesla has a cooperation to build devices for producing RNA vaccines, as well as German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier yesterday. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)](/polopoly_fs/1.1663557.1633677597!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/fuerstenwalde-germany-september-03-tesla-head-elon-musk-arrives-to-have-a-look-at-the-construction-site-of-the-new-tesla-gigafactory-near-berlin-on-september-03-2020-near-gruenheide-germany-musk-is-currently-in-germany-where-he-met-with-vaccine-maker-curevac-on-tuesday-with-which-tesla-has-a-cooperation-to-build-devices-for-producing-rna-vaccines-as-well-as-german-economy-minister-peter-altmaier-yesterday-photo-by-maja-hitij-getty-images.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk appears to be on his way to Berlin before Tesla Inc. hosts thousands of locals at the electric-car maker’s German factory that’s been delayed by several months due to legal challenges.
Musk’s jet took off Friday from Austin, Texas, and is headed for the German capital, according to a Twitter account that tracks the plane’s movement. The carmaker is organizing an Oktoberfest-style event at the site in the small town of Gruenheide on Saturday for as many as 9,000 locals, with demand exceeding available tickets.
Pictures posted on Twitter this week showed a ferris wheel and several tents being put up at the site. Musk has previously said he’ll attend the event.
While his visit marks the factory’s final stretch of construction, Tesla is still waiting for approval for the project that underpins its European expansion plans just as Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG broaden their EV lineups. For Germany, the plant promises new jobs in a region that lost most of its heavy industry during World War II.
Progress at Gruenheide has been less smooth than hoped, with Tesla facing lawsuits from environmental groups concerned about water use and wildlife.
Locals have filed more than 800 complaints that are currently being discussed via an online consultation process that’s to last until Oct. 14. The region’s environmental authorities have vowed to make a decision on final approval only after that process ends.
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