Elon Musk says Brexit makes UK too risky for gigafactory site

Tesla gigafactory 2
Tesla gigafactory 2

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said uncertainty around Brexit has made it too risky to locate a new battery manufacturing plant in the UK.


The electric car company now plans to establish its first European production facility in Germany instead: a battery plant near Berlin.

The company will also build its Model 3 and Model Y electric cars in Berlin, with production planned to begin in 2021. The Model 3 has been in particularly high demand in the UK over the summer, outpacing the Ford Focus as the third best-selling car in August.


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Mr Musk made the Brexit comments while speaking to Auto Express after making the announcement at the Golden Steering Wheel Awards in Berlin.

He was collecting an Award for the Tesla Model 3 when he shared the news: “We’ve decided to put the Tesla Gigafactory Europe in the Berlin area,” he said. “I come to Berlin a lot – Berlin rocks!”

The entrepreneur added: “Some of the best cars in the world are made in Germany, everyone knows that German engineering is outstanding. That’s part of the reason why we’re locating our Gigafactory Europe in Germany. We are also going to create an engineering and design centre in Berlin.”

Tesla has previously intended to build a research and development centre in the UK as well. In 2014 Elon Musk told Auto Express he planned to build the site in the future – those plans are now been dropped.

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