Berlin’s Gigafactory will be Tesla’s fourth battery plant. The first is in Reno Nevada, with a second gigafactory due in Buffalo, New York. The third is nearing completion near Shanghai in China. The European plant is set to be sited near Berlin’s upcoming new airport on the outskirts of the city.
Electric car pioneer Elon Musk picked Germany for his new factory because of Brexit, he revealed at an award ceremony in Germany.
Speaking to Auto Express, he blamed Brexit uncertainty for his decision to drop plans to build a research and development base in the UK, which will now go to Germany instead.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed investors are ready to unfurl development plans in the UK if his Brexit deal is passed, and pledged a “clean energy revolution” in the UK if re-elected – and his affinities for Musk’s brand of innovation were underlined when his controversial chief aide Dominic Cummings openly wore an ‘Open AI’ T-shirt very early on in Johnson’s premiership. Open AI is the Silicon Valley start-up Mr Musk founded. The Conservatives have also pledged to invest £1 billion in the UK electric car industry.
German officials and auto industry leaders have agreed to increase by half the existing government incentives for electric vehicles worth 40,000 euros. The subsidy will be extended from the end of 2020 to the end of 2025, while the government and industry also agreed to aim for 50,000 publicly accessible charging stations nationwide by 2022.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
