Tesla doesn’t have enough water in Germany to produce more

The Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, is vital to Tesla’s expansion in Europe. The US manufacturer’s factory is currently targeting production of 500,000 Tesla Model Ys, but its aim is to double or produce 1 million cars per year. However, water consumption will double at a time when current production has already reached the limits of what the local public water supply can provide. So Tesla plans to tap other water sources to support its production. This angered water companies and local bodies.

>> Read more – Tesla: Gigafactory in Grünheide approved

A dangerous precedent

Tesla’s approach is to conduct exploratory drilling near the Gigafactory in Grünheide to find new exploitable water sources and update decades-old public data. While officials aren’t opposed to such a move in principle, they point out that if Tesla finds a new water source — or several — the brand would still need to apply for and obtain a license to operate it.

Moreover, it is unusual for a private company to conduct such tests rather than local authorities and the latter – along with some politicians and environmental groups – fear that it will set a legal precedent for private companies to collect public data. In addition, there is a high risk that Tesla will claim preferential access to the resources it discovers – to the detriment of the public interest. In the neighboring region of Märkish-Oderland, an administrator said, “Water is a public good, and exploration is a public task … it is a frontier. [die niet mag worden overschreden.]”

What about employees?

But before Tesla can double its annual output and find more water, it must first solve its labor problems. Available from an American manufacturer Difficulty in finding and retaining adequate staff. Between extremely harsh working conditions and working hours and lower wages than similar companies in the region, Tesla has a German mentality that is very different from America.