Tesla (TSLA.O) plans to drill for new water sources to supply an expansion of its electric vehicle plant near Berlin, according to local authorities and water associations, the latest move by the carmaker to jump-start German bureaucracy, APA reports citing Reuters.
After the factory's launch in March was almost waylaid by opposition from environmental groups over its water use, Tesla is taking matters into its own hands as it prepares to double the capacity of the plant in Gruenheide, Brandenburg, from 500,000 to over a million cars per year, pending approval from local authorities.
At a municipal council meeting last week, a Tesla representative said the company would pay for exploratory drilling to update a decades-old public database of groundwater sources, according to Gruenheide mayor Arne Christiani, who attended the meeting.
A local environmental ministry spokesperson said Tesla was in touch with local authorities but an application had not yet been filed.
"We've got nothing against it," Christiani told Reuters, while pointing out it was unusual for a private company to run such tests instead of local authorities.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
