BERLIN, March 22 (Reuters) - Tesla will deliver the first cars from its 5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) Gruenheide plant on Tuesday, marking the biggest investment in an automobile factory in recent German history and the start of the U.S. company's inaugural European hub.

The 30 clients chosen to receive the first cars on-site gathered with their families to await the vehicles through a glitzy, neon-lit Tesla branded exit from the factory, where Chief Executive Elon Musk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were expected to arrive and begin the handover.

"(It) shows that Germany should be the leading market for electromobility," economy minister Habeck said outside the factory gates, adding that ramping up electric vehicle was particularly important as Germany attempts to reduce its dependence on Russian fuel.

Not everyone supports the Tesla plant, however, with environmental groups expressing concern throughout the two years it took to receive licenses for everything from the factory's high water usage to the trees felled to build it.

Protestors marched towards the plant on Tuesday with flags and pots and pans, local radio rbb reported, reaching the gates just before Musk was due to speak.

Musk had hoped to begin output from the factory eight months ago, but local authorities in Germany said it had still been completed relatively swiftly despite licensing delays.

Tesla received the final go-ahead from local authorities on March 4 to begin production, provided it met several conditions, covering issues such as water use and air pollution control.

"Some people didn't trust Germany could do this," regional finance minister Joerg Steinbach told rbb radio, adding: "We showed the world." read more

RACE WITH VW

The chosen Tesla clients will receive the Model Y Performance configuration, a vehicle costing 63,990 euros with a 514 km (320 miles) range, the company said, adding that new orders from the plant could be delivered from April.

Tesla said that more than 3,000 of the plant's expected 12,000 workers have been hired so far.

The licensing delay meant Tesla had to service earlier European orders from its Shanghai factory, driving up costs.

"Makes a huge difference to capital efficiency to localize production within a continent," Musk tweeted.

At full capacity, the plant will produce 500,000 cars a year, more than the 450,000 battery-electric vehicles that German rival Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) sold globally in 2021.

It will also generate 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery power, surpassing all other plants Germany.

For now, Volkswagen still has the inside track in the race to electrify Europe's fleet, with a 25% market share to Tesla's 13%. Musk has said ramping up production will take longer than the two years it took to build the plant. read more

JPMorgan predicted Gruenheide would produce around 54,000 cars in 2022, increasing to 280,000 in 2023 and 500,000 by 2025.

Volkswagen, which has already received 95,000 EV orders in Europe this year, is planning a new 2 billion euro EV plant alongside its Wolfsburg factory and six battery plants across Europe.

But its timeline lags Tesla's, with the EV factory to open in 2026 and the first battery plant in 2023.

Elon Musk and Tesla Give Up on a Trick that Boosts Margins, Revenue

Mar 26, 2022

It is so rare that it deserves to be underlined.

Elon Musk and Tesla never retreat in the face of adversity. The electric vehicle (EV) maker, for example, has made two price hikes on its cars since the start of the year as similar moves by rivals have been met with an outcry from consumers.

However, after a story by TheStreet reporting that electric vehicle maker Tesla had implemented an ingenious trick to entice Tesla car customers to pay more, the company has backtracked. As of time of writing, the trick in question is no longer in place.

In an article published on March 25 entitled 'Tesla and Musk Use Ingenious Trick to Get Buyers to Pay More', we wrote that Tesla had implemented a clever mechanism allowing Tesla customers to significantly shorten the waiting time for their new vehicle.

To shorten delivery times, customers had to add the company's premium full-self-driving assistance system at a cost of $12,000.

When they chose the FSD option, the delivery time reduces from June to August 2022 to May to July 2022 for the Model 3, for example.

For the Model Y SUV, the delivery time was shortened to between June and September 2022 compared with October 2022 to January 2023.

No Longer Possible to Shorten Tesla Delivery Times

The delivery period could be shortened to a maximum of seven months. Some smart buyers managed to get around the trick. Since the FSD capability is just software as opposed to a physical piece that must be installed, some customers ordered the driver assistance system option, and then canceled it just before the vehicle's (shortened) delivery date.

To be sure: The FSD feature enables Tesla cars to execute maneuvers on their own, but it does not make these vehicles autonomous, Tesla warns and reiterates. "The currently enabled features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous," the company has said.

The trick no longer exists. From now on, when you order for example a Tesla Model 3 even by adding the FSD Capability, the delivery date remains between June and August 2022 and no longer from May to June as TheStreet had observed and revealed.

When the Model Y SUV, when you place an order now the delivery date from October 2022 to January 2023 no longer moves with or without FSD.

Tesla does not give an explanation.

Faced with the imbalance between demand and supply for electric vehicles and full order books, automotive groups are trying to find a way to produce more despite disruption of supply chains and the surge in raw materials in order to satisfy EV buyers.

Tesla is by far the leading manufacturer of electric vehicles with soon four factories -- Fremont in California, Shanghai, Berlin in Germany and soon Austin in Texas --.

Customer Complaints About Tesla

TheStreet has received various testimonials from Tesla customers complaining about the trick. Chris Roat, for example, tells TheStreet that he and his wife, Sue Wang, had originally included FSD on a Model Y order placed on January 13.

"We ordered it in January and got a delivery date of Oct/Nov -- so it wasn't like we added FSD for an early delivery! Interestingly, our delivery date recently got bumped earlier to Mar/Apr (meaning: right now!)," he said.

Roat shared with TheStreet text messages they had with a Tesla representative. In a message sent on March 16, the representative asked them if they could take delivery of their vehicle in March.

"Tesla Update - We currently plan to build and deliver your Model Y in March. Please reply MARCH if you are ready for delivery this month and we will contact you about scheduling your delivery once your Model Y is built," Tesla representative wrote. " Please reply DELAY if you cannot take delivery this month and we will reach back out at a later time."

They answered "March."

"We scrambled to sell some stock, move money between accounts, and get enough money ready to take a delivery," Roat told TheStret.

But, "in talking with a Tesla agent, we dropped FSD. For us, the decision was solely based on value vs cost -- we felt we'd only use 1 or 2 features, and it wasn't worth the price tag (of $10k, at the time of our order)," Roat said.

"Because changes could incur delays, I specifically asked if our delivery date would change. I was told no, since it was only a software change we requested. But then, a few days later, our delivery got pushed back to June/July."

Their delivery date changed immediately. Roat and his wife will now take possession of their vehicle between June 17 and July 29, according to a latest update from Tesla viewed by TheStreet.

Elon Musk says he’s considering building a new social media platform

Mon, Mar 28 2022

Elon Musk said he is giving “serious thought” to building a new social media platform in a Tweet on Saturday. He did not share any specifics on what the hypothetical social media platform would look like or how it would work.

The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire made the remark after claiming that Twitter doesn’t allow for free speech.

On Friday, Musk tweeted: “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” He followed up asking whether a new platform is needed.

In another Tweet Friday, Musk said “free speech is essential to a functioning democracy” and questioned if Twitter “rigorously adheres to this principle.”

Regulator scrutiny

The Tesla CEO does not like the fact that his tweets are scrutinized by regulators.


[ . . . ]