According to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk last year ridiculed the idea that “building a factory in Germany will lead to local water shortages”, but now, Brandenburg has Continued declines in groundwater levels are affecting progress at Tesla’s German factory.
Musk rashly pointed out last August that water is “everywhere” around Berlin. But now, six months later, it is precisely the problem of water scarcity that has become one of the main reasons why the Slag German factory has not been put into operation.
The Brandenburg region of Germany is suffering from falling water tables and prolonged drought due to climate change. It has also sparked a legal battle, which is due to go to trial next week. The local government has admitted that once Tesla expands the factory (the second phase of the project), the local water supply will be insufficient.
Clearly, the issue could further delay or even be forced to cancel Tesla’s 5 billion euro ($5.7 billion) plant, analysts said, dealing a costly blow to Tesla’s global expansion plans.
Irina Engelhardt, head of the Department of Hydrogeology at the Technical University of Berlin, said: “The Tesla factory will definitely exacerbate the local water scarcity problem. As a result, not everyone may have enough water to drink. ”
Ensuring the production of the Brandenburg plant is critical to Tesla’s global ambitions. At present, Tesla urgently needs to establish a manufacturing base in Europe to meet the needs of the fast-growing electric vehicle market in the region.
While Tesla has built the factory at breakneck speed, it is still awaiting final approval from local authorities, like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis NV expand their own electric car production line.
Brandenburg Economy Minister Joerg Steinbach said in an interview: “The current water supply is sufficient for the first phase of the factory. However, once Tesla expands the factory, we will need more water resources.”
Axel Bronstert, a professor of hydrology at the University of Potsdam, said the Tesla plant will roughly double water consumption in the Gruenheide region of Brandenburg, which is believed to be sufficient for The idea of meeting the needs of factories and residents is naive.
According to Tesla’s contract with the local government, Tesla’s Greenhead plant will receive 1.4 million cubic meters of water per year, which is enough to meet the water needs of a city of about 40,000 people.
In fact, no matter what the judge decides, the local waterworks will have to invest in new infrastructure, including the construction of a sewage treatment plant, to ensure adequate water supply. The local government acknowledges that such a large engineering project could take years.