Tesla is planning a Gigafactory in Germany | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tesla’s Gigafactory in Germany won approval from local officials on Friday, but the company still has to meet several requirements before the plant can begin production of vehicles, Reuters reported, including concerns about the plant’s water use.
Construction on the factory, which is nearly complete, was delayed several times by complaints from environmental groups in the area who protested the factory’s water use and potential disruption to wildlife. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the Gigafactory will use “relatively little” water and has argued that the forest that was cleared before the plant’s construction was “not a natural forest” since it had only been planted to make cardboard.
Musk first announced in 2019 that Tesla would locate…
