Elon Musk finally inaugurated the Berlin Gigafactory and presented the first Tesla Model Ys produced in Europe to an excited crowd made of up employees, the press, bureaucrats, and eager customers. He was joined by German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Another Milestone For Tesla.Inc

A new chapter begins for Tesla as the EV maker begins its European operations with the opening of its Giga Brandenburg facility in Berlin. It is the automaker's first factory on the old Continent. This comes after Tesla had initially encountered several hurdles and delays. But finally, the Model Y is now being built and Elon Musk himself was there to hand over the first 30 finished customer cars.

First Model Y deliveries at Giga Berlin pic.twitter.com/JCneGrBJRA

— Tesla (@Tesla) March 22, 2022

If you weren't already aware, the Gigafactory's construction has been beset by periodic stoppages and repairs as a result of several environmental groups protesting against its construction. The adverse environmental impact caused by this mega build led these groups to sue Tesla. After more than five months of haggling with the Brandenburg authorities, Tesla eventually got everything in order.

What Musk Had To Say

Elon Musk dancing at the opening of the new #gigafactory just outside Berlin, where he was handing the first Tesla Model Y vehicles to their owners #GigaBerlin pic.twitter.com/mxcO8RYs6T

— Daniel Orton (@MisterOrton) March 22, 2022

Giga Berlin

The German Gigafactory is now expected to produce 500,000 vehicles per year. The 227,000 square meters and 12,000 employees strong will help Tesla achieve these goals.

In a later phase, a portion of the plant will be allocated to the production of battery cells. This opens the door to the possibility that Y-models in Europe will be furnished with the new 4680 cells that are presently operational at the Texas Gigafactory in the medium to long term.

What This Means For The Continent

With deliveries finally underway, Tesla can now scale back fulfilling European orders from its Shanghai facility. It will now begin to scale up operations in Europe. CNBC recently put out a video on why VW is beating Tesla in Europe, but with the Californian EV maker now on its home turf, it needs to be seen if Tesla can win the European EV race.