Tesla opens European engineering center in Berlin with 100 million euro investment

A renovated plant in Köpenick

Tesla has opened a new European development center in Berlin, housed in a former industrial plant in the Köpenick district that the company renovated. According to the company, engineers and technicians work in laboratories there on the development of materials, propulsion systems and vehicles. The site lies not far from Tesla's Grünheide factory, the only car plant the company operates in Europe. The opening took place on 4 November, and Berlin's governing mayor, Kai Wegner (CDU), was expected to attend in the afternoon. The center began operating in partial mode, the company said.

Staffing and the expansion plan

In the first expansion phase, more than 250 people work at the site, according to Tesla. Some of them come from existing facilities in Tilburg in the Netherlands and from other laboratory locations. Tesla has applied for approval of a second expansion phase that would grow the site to about 500 engineers and technicians. Der Tagesspiegel reported that 500 engineers are to develop and test components for new Tesla models, and it gave the facility the name 'Berlin Tesla Engineering Center'. The company put the total investment at 100 million euros.

In a statement, Tesla described the site in these terms:

“The new engineering center once again underscores Tesla's long-term commitment to Germany as a strategic location for innovation.”

Testing on site

Safety tests on vehicle parts, including airbags, are carried out in a large hall at the site. Battery cell tests are carried out in the same large hall, according to the company. Der Tagesspiegel described a demonstration for visitors at a catapult installation, in which a club-like device is hurled with force against the front of a Tesla in what the report calls the 'leg test'. The report said the car passed, with the impact cushioned somewhat, and that the bonnet springs up when the blow lands.

Grünheide production and electric car demand

The Grünheide plant is also set to expand. Mid-October reports said Tesla intends to double output there from the planned 500,000 cars per year, a level the plant has not yet reached, to one million cars per year.

Planned level, not yet reached500,000

Target after doubling1,000,000

Planned level, not yet reached

500000 cars per year

Target after doubling

1000000 cars per year

Data from the article text

Electric cars are growing in popularity in Germany, and DIE WELT links the trend partly to higher fuel costs. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, demand for the electric car premium is strong.