Tesla Berlin Gigafactory Aims For One Million Vehicles a Year

The Berlin plant has earned its badge of being one of the most profitable for the Austin electric car company: in recent months the number of vehicles produced has been increasing at a steady pace at these facilities. Now it has reached a new record with which Tesla hopes to stabilize its production numbers in the long term; this number is none other than 5,000 Tesla Model Y per week.

It was Elon Musk's goal: to be able to manufacture up to 250,000 units of his electric cars annually at the Gigafactory in Berlin. After beginning operations last March 2022 (with actually many logistics and supply problems), Tesla had set itself reaching this number by the end of 2022, nine months after its start-up. However, a major global supply crisis and many other headaches led to the postponement of this goal, which was finally reached three months later, that is, one year after it started production.

The latest growth experienced in Giga Berlin has been decisive: at the end of 2022 the facilities reached a weekly production of 3,000 units of the Tesla Model Y; later, just a few weeks ago, they increased that number by another thousand units, thus reaching 4,000 weekly. Now, they have managed to produce 5,000 electric cars per week.

If this trend continues, up to 250,000 vehicles a year could coming out of the Giga Berlin plant. Although this figure is Elon Musk's original goal, the truth is that the South African magnate is already thinking of exceeding it: just a few weeks ago, the company's intention to expand these facilities with the sole purpose of reaching an annual production of one million vehicles per year was made public. This will mean increasing the figure by no less than 750,000 additional units.

Before said expansion occurs, the factory as we know it today could accommodate the manufacture of up to 500,000 cars per year. To do this, Tesla could add a new model to its lines soon; the first indications pointed to the Tesla Model 3, although at the moment nothing else is officially known about the issue.

Be that as it may, and to celebrate such a figure, the Austin-Texas company has launched several publications on its official social networks. In a striking video that lasts just 28 seconds, the assembly process of a Tesla Model Y can be seen throughout its entire journey through the German facilities.

Will Giga Berlin manage to surpass the number reached so far? Many experts suggest that this could be the case, directly estimating a production of 10,000 vehicles per week. With this, the current figures would be doubled and would stand at the aforementioned 500,000 cars annually.

Giga Berlin hits 5k builds/week—1 year after delivering the first vehicles to customers pic.twitter.com/PZigSaSci5— Tesla (@Tesla) March 25, 2023

The Gigafactory -Berlin has proven to be a remarkable success for Tesla, reaching new records in Model Y production and setting ambitious goals for expansion. The steady increase in production numbers shows the determination and innovation the company has put into the facility, and the possibility of adding more models to its production line demonstrates a commitment to growth. If Tesla can achieve and even surpass its aim of producing 10,000 vehicles per week, it will solidify Giga Berlin's status as a powerhouse in the electric vehicle industry, contributing significantly to Tesla's global presence and influence.

All images courtesy of Tesla Inc.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.