Tesla will shut down production at Gigafactory Berlin to upgrade the factory and add a replacement
Tesla will reportedly shut down production at Gigafactory Berlin to upgrade the factory and add a shift to achieve higher production capacity.
Tesla’s top priority is to increase production to meet customer demand.
The carmaker does this in all its factories, but the ramps are more significant at Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Texas, which only recently started production.
Giga Berlin seemed to be doing relatively well thanks to the use of the 2170 cells, which enable a battery infrastructure that Tesla is used to, and it achieved a production speed of 1000 model cars per week in June.
Giga Texas seemed to be falling behind since they had trouble increasing production of the 4680 battery cell and the structural battery pack, but we reported that last week the factory increased production significantly, as Tesla began building the Model Y Long Range by 21[ads1]70 cells at plants.
Tesla is now looking for Gigafactory Berlin to catch up, and it will reportedly close the factory for about two weeks to upgrade it.
Germany’s Bild reported the news today:
According to BILD information, Tesla therefore wants to suspend operations for two weeks starting next Monday. It is unclear how many of the 4,500 employees will be sent on holiday and how many technicians will be left to convert production.
The publication also states that the carmaker will add a third shift and start producing electric motors at the factory instead of importing them from Gigafactory Shanghai:
According to employees, after the production break, work will be done in wood instead of two shifts. In addition, Tesla could then start producing the station in a neighboring hall.
While the upgrade may help, Gigafactory Berlin’s biggest bottleneck is reportedly the workforce.
In recent months, there have been many reports that Tesla has problems hiring and retaining employees. Some of them suggested that pay has been a special topic, and the local union, IG Metall, began to get involved. But Tesla increased wages by 6% for many employees to solve the problem.
It will require a significant hiring effort for Tesla to add a third shift at the factory after restarting the factory later this month.
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