Tesla nears land deal for German gigafactory outside of Berlin

Tesla is making progress on its plan to build its European gigafactory in Berlin, Bloomberg reports. The Elon Musk-run automaker is working with state officials in Brandenburg on the contract to secure around 740 acres of land just outside Berlin in Gruenheide, and the government has agreed to the contract as currently written and is now awaiting Tesla’s final sign-off.

On top of the contract, Tesla has also filed the requisite documents with local environmental monitoring authorities that outline the impact of the factory build, a required step in order to secure approval to break ground.

Musk revealed that he had selected an area just outside of Berlin as the site of the company’s European Gigafactory during an awards acceptance ceremony in November. The location is near the new Berlin airport, which has been under construction for many years and will replace Berlin’s aging and cramped Tegel airport once completed.

The Berlin Gigafactory will be building vehicles, starting with the forthcoming Tesla Model Y compact SUV, but it will also build batteries and powertrains, Musk said on Twitter at the time. Eventually, the new facility could employ as many as 10,000 people and produce up to 500,000 new vehicles per year, Bild reported previously.