Tesla has changed its plan to make battery cells in Germany. Instead, those battery cells are made in the United States, because of favorable subsidies in that country. Battery parts are still made and batteries are assembled in Germany.
The carmaker has moved battery cell production to the United States because of subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act, a spokesperson said to Reuters, among others . Tesla initially had plans to produce 4680 cells in Grünheide, near Berlin. At the end of 2021 it turned out that Tesla had missed out on more than a billion euros in subsidy for this , due to delays in the construction of this factory.
The company will still assemble batteries in Grünheide, for which it will use battery cells made in the United States. In addition, the manufacturer wants to produce parts such as electrodes in the German battery factory. Part of this is then sent back to the United States.
Tesla said earlier that it wants to make 50 GWh of batteries annually with the battery factory in Grünheide. According to a minister of the German state of Brandenburg, where Grünheide is located, Tesla’s decision would not affect the number of employees at the factory. The battery factory is located near Tesla’s German car factory.
The company does not seem to rule out making battery cells in Germany in the future, but is now shifting priorities to the United States because of the extra subsidies currently being offered by the US government. American consumers who purchase electric cars with batteries from the US also receive an additional subsidy. The 4680 cells that Tesla will produce offer more battery capacity at a lower cost.
