Elon Musk throws party at Tesla factory near Berlin

BERLIN, October 9 (Reuters) – Flashing lights, booming speakers, sprawling stages and a Ferris wheel have turned the Tesla Auto Plant (TSLA.O) near Berlin into a county fair for a one-day festival hosted by CEO Elon Musk on Saturday.

The festival, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors, with priority given to residents of the state of Brandenburg, started at 10:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT) but will continue late into the night, with bands and DJs. to “make the party last,” the official website for the event said.

“Giga Berlin-Brandenburg fun party today!” Musk tweeted in German shortly after the start, then joked with a Twitter follower who responded to correct his German.

Musk hopes to get the green light in the coming weeks to start production at the site, which, at its peak, will produce 500,000 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) per year, more than double the German production of BEV in 2020. .

The company also submitted plans to invest 5 billion euros ($ 5.8 billion) in a 50 GWh capacity battery plant next to the site, surpassing Volkswagen’s planned 40 GWh site (VOWG_p .DE) in Salzgitter. Read more

While Tesla has repeatedly said the site will bring Germany significantly closer to its electric mobility goals, some locals and environmental groups are unhappy with the disruptive approach of the Tesla CEO which they say goes against the grain. German corporate culture. Read more

The last consultation on public concerns about the site ends on October 14, after which the Environment Ministry will decide whether to reject or approve it. The Brandenburg Minister of the Economy pinned the odds of approval at 95%.

Drone footage posted to Twitter within 24 hours of the start showed preparations for the festival well underway, with sound checks of booming techno beats, lighting tests, and festival tents set up next to rows of Tesla cars.

Visitors to the event posted videos of factory tours showing production line robots giving choreographed displays. Others highlighted the electric buses on which they were taken to the festival site.

Musk, however, has yet to make an appearance.

Tesla received approval from local authorities to have 9,000 people on site at a time despite pandemic-related restrictions limiting large gatherings to 5,000, after presenting a plan on how he would keep the city safe. COVID event, authorities said.

Participants have been given a time slot for a 1.5-hour tour of the factory and must provide proof of a negative COVID test, vaccination or recovery, depending on the admission ticket.

“We invite you to explore our factory along our production lines. You will have the chance to see how tons of raw metal are melted, pressed and assembled to build our Model Y,” the post said.

($ 1 = 0.8649 euros)

Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, additional reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Nick Zieminski and Jane Merriman

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