Tesla plans to start production in October at its new Gigafactory near Berlin.
Reuters reported that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk remarked on the plans during an event Friday in Germany. According to the report:
“We’re looking forward to hopefully getting the approval to make the first cars maybe in October if we are fortunate,” Musk said on a visit to the plant with Armin Laschet, Germany’s conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor.
Tesla has faced a number of setbacks with the construction of the factory, mostly trying to meet German regulatory requirements and satisfying concerns from environmentalists about damage to the area around the factory site.
Tesla is still waiting to receive final approval from local regulators on some environmental issues.
Giga Berlin is an important milestone for Tesla, as its first factory in Europe. Tesla will initially build its Model Y SUV at the factory.