“Berlin rocks,” Mr. Musk said, adding Tesla would build an engineering and design center in the German capital.<\/p>
Tesla previously said it aimed to start production in Europe in 2021.<\/p>
The moves come as the firm, which has also invested heavily in a Chinese factory, faces intensifying competition in the electric vehicle industry.<\/p>
Mr. Musk made the announcement at an awards ceremony in Germany on Tuesday. The company already has an assembly site in the Netherlands, but the plans for Germany are on a far larger scale.<\/p>
“Everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding and that’s part of the reason we are locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany,” he said.<\/p>
Mr. Musk also cited risks surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU for his decision, according to AutoExpress.<\/p>
“Brexit [uncertainty] made it too risky to put a Gigafactory in the UK,” he told the trade magazine.<\/p>
Mr. Musk said the facility would be located near the new Berlin airport and later gave more details on what the factory would produce on Twitter.<\/p>
The focus on Germany comes amid a rising appetite for electric cars in Europe.<\/p>
Over the coming years, the biggest electric car production plants will be in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, industry analysis shows.<\/p>
Some 16 large-scale lithium-ion battery cell plants are confirmed or due to begin operations in Europe by 2023.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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