Tesla factory to welcome public in October, Laschet backs Musk

The new Tesla factory outside of Berlin is to open its doors to the public with a tour on October 9.

Berlin (dpa) – The new Tesla factory outside of Berlin is to open its doors to the public with a tour on October 9.

Tesla chief Elon Musk said on Twitter on Friday that a county fair and factory tour are to take place, and residents of the states of Brandenburg and Berlin would have priority.

“But also open to general public,” Musk added.

Tesla is building what the company says is the most advanced high-volume electric vehicle production plant in the world.

Originally, production at the so-called Tesla Gigafactory was supposed to start in July, but the end of the year is now the target date.

The delay in starting production is due to a series of issues, including the processing of paperwork, such as an environmental permit to be drawn up by the Brandenburg authorities.

Brandenburg has given no date for a decision on the Tesla permit. Musk hopes that the approval process for the factory will end in October, but the Brandenburg state government has reacted cautiously.

The deadline for possible objections to an amended permit application by Tesla is August 19, the state ministry of the environment said in Potsdam on Friday.

“A concrete date for a decision on the application can therefore not be given at this time,” the ministry said.

Environmental groups have a range of concerns about the project and have filed several lawsuits.

Armin Laschet, hoping to succeed fellow Christian Democrat Angela Merkel as German chancellor after September’s election when she retires, visited the nearly-completed plant on Friday and spoke with Musk.

Laschet said the raft of objections against the factory were getting out of hand.

“It is not acceptable that someone who is not affected as a resident here, but lives on the North Sea or the Bavarian Alps, can file a lawsuit to stop such projects. That’s where we need to make a change,” he told reporters.

Musk said of Laschet: “He seems to be a great guy.”

Up against a strong Green Party, Laschet is looking to burnish his environmental credentials with voters by associating himself with the move to electric cars – even as some climate groups say the factory will still not be environmentally-friendly.