News
German officials’ and Elon Musk’s speeches on Tesla Giga Berlin’s opening event highlight a message of hope
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg may have seen its own fair share of delays, but the facility was still completed quickly — at least compared to other high-profile projects in the area. This was a point highlighted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) during Giga Berlin’s opening ceremony, which was attended by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and several other government officials.
The massive electric vehicle factory ultimately entered operations after almost two years of construction. According to Scholz, East Germany will especially benefit from Giga Berlin’s presence in the area. Considering the time it took for the facility to be built and fully approved, the official noted that Giga Berlin proves that “Germany can be fast.” This is quite a valid point considering that the BER airport, which opened in 2020, encountered a nine-year delay.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck stated that the official start of Model Y production at Giga Berlin is a special day for the region and for Germany as a whole. Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke was on the same page, noting that by having a vehicle factory set up and running in 861 days since its announcement, Tesla has put Grünheide on the map.
“Personally, I’m grateful to Elon Musk for locating such a project here,” Woidke said, adding that he and the Tesla CEO have been in close contact over the construction of Giga Berlin. The politician admitted that Tesla sometimes made it difficult for Brandenburg, and there were also times when Brandenburg made things difficult for Tesla. Commenting further, Woidke stated that he is relieved that vehicle production is starting in Giga Berlin. “We look forward to a long and good time with Tesla,” he said.
The speed of Giga Berlin’s construction is due to a variety of factors. True to its reputation, Tesla moved fast, constructing the facility using preliminary permits and without public funding. The company also had foregone subsidies for Giga Berlin. This was a lot of risk on Tesla’s part, but Elon Musk noted in his opening speech that Giga Berlin is worth all the work. According to the CEO, Tesla would ensure that the facility becomes a point of pride for those in the area.
“I’m incredibly excited to hand over the first production cars from our team here at Giga Berlin-Brandenburg. This is a great day for the factory, and I’d just like to thank everyone who helped. Thank you very much. You’ve really made a very big difference. And to the community, Tesla will make sure that this is a gemstone for the area, for Germany, for Europe, and for the world.
“Every vehicle that we make will be another step in the direction of a sustainable energy future, and we will also make battery storage, so this will be very important for storing renewable energy. So, for solar and wind, because it’s intermittent and needs to be stored. We are extremely confident that the world can transition to a sustainable energy future with the combination of solar, wind, plus battery storage and electric vehicles. If you have those three legs of the stool, then you can create a sustainable energy future for as long as the sun shines and the wind blows,” Musk said.
Musk also touched on what could very well be a personal topic in his speech, noting that facilities such as Gigafactory Berlin should encourage people to have hope in the future. Tesla is a company whose sole existence is to help move the world towards sustainability, and facilities like Giga Berlin are significant steps towards achieving these goals.
“So I want to be clear, that, because sometimes people are sad about the future or they think, ‘Will we solve sustainable energy?’ and ‘Maybe it’s the climate issue,’ ‘It’s too late’, or something like that. I really want to assure everyone that you can have hope in the future, you should have hope in the future. This problem will be solved and this factory is a major step in that direction. So believe in the future,” Musk said.
Watch Elon Musk’s opening speech at Giga Berlin in the video below.
*Quotes courtesy of rbb24.
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Investor's Corner
Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a bold Robotaxi prediction from Morgan Stanley, which anticipates a dramatic increase in the size of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing suite in the coming years.
Last week, Andrew Percoco took over Tesla analysis for Morgan Stanley from Adam Jonas, who covered the stock for years. Percoco seems to be less optimistic and bullish on Tesla shares, while still being fair and balanced in his analysis.
Percoco dug into the Robotaxi fleet and its expansion in the coming years in his latest note, released on Tuesday. The firm expects Tesla to increase the Robotaxi fleet size to 1,000 vehicles in 2026. However, that’s small-scale compared to what they expect from Tesla in a decade.
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
By 2035, Morgan Stanley believes there will be one million Robotaxis on the road across multiple cities, a major jump and a considerable fleet size. We assume this means the fleet of vehicles Tesla will operate internally, and not including passenger-owned vehicles that could be added through software updates.
He also listed three specific catalysts that investors should pay attention to, as these will represent the company being on track to achieve its Robotaxi dreams:
- Opening Robotaxi to the public without a Safety Monitor. Timing is unclear, but it appears that Tesla is getting closer by the day.
- Improvement in safety metrics without the Safety Monitor. Tesla’s ability to improve its safety metrics as it scales miles driven without the Safety Monitor is imperative as it looks to scale in new states and cities in 2026.
- Cybercab start of production, targeted for April 2026. Tesla’s Cybercab is a purpose-built vehicle (no steering wheel or pedals, only two seats) that is expected to be produced through its state-of-the-art unboxed manufacturing process, offering further cost reductions and thus accelerating adoption over time.
Robotaxi stands to be one of Tesla’s most significant revenue contributors, especially as the company plans to continue expanding its ride-hailing service across the world in the coming years.
Its current deployment strategy is controlled and conservative to avoid any drastic and potentially program-ruining incidents.
So far, the program, which is active in Austin and the California Bay Area, has been widely successful.
News
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.
Tesla’s domestic sales in China held steady in November with around 73,000 units delivered, but a closer look at the Model Y L’s numbers hints at an emerging shift towards pricier variants that could very well be boosting average selling prices and margins.
This suggests that the addition of the Model Y L to Tesla China’s lineup will not result in a case of cannibalization, but a possible case of “premiumization” instead.
Tesla China’s November domestic numbers
Data from the a Passenger Car Association (CPCA) indicated that Tesla China saw domestic deliveries of about 73,000 vehicles in November 2025. This number included 34,000 standard Model Y units, 26,000 Model 3 units, and 13,000 Model Y L units, as per industry watchers.
This means that the Model Y L accounted for roughly 27% of Tesla China’s total Model Y sales, despite the variant carrying a ~28% premium over the base RWD Model Y that is estimated to have dominated last year’s mix.
As per industry watcher @TSLAFanMtl, this suggests that Tesla China’s sales have moved towards more premium variants this year. Thus, direct year-over-year sales comparisons might miss the bigger picture. This is true even for the regular Model Y, as another premium trim, the Long Range RWD variant, was also added to the lineup this 2025.
November 2025 momentum
While Tesla China’s overall sales this year have seen challenges, the Model Y and Model 3 have remained strong sellers in the country. This is especially impressive as the Model Y and Model 3 are premium-priced vehicles, and they compete in the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market. Tesla China is also yet to roll out the latest capabilities of FSD in China, which means that its vehicles in the country could not tap into their latest capabilities yet.
Aggregated results from November suggest that the Tesla Model Y took the crown as China’s #1 best-selling SUV during the month, with roughly 34,000 deliveries. With the Model Y L, this number is even higher. The Tesla Model 3 also had a stellar month, seeing 25,700 deliveries during November 2025.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award
To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.
The Tesla Cybertruck has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest honor, earning a Top Safety Pick+ rating for 2025 models built after April 2025.
The full-size electric pickup truck’s safety rating is partly due to the vehicle’s strong performance in updated crash tests, superior front crash prevention, and effective headlights, among other factors. To commemorate the accolade, the official Cybertruck account celebrated the milestone on X.
Cybertruck’s IIHS rating
As per the IIHS, beginning with 2025 Cybertruck models built after April 2025, changes were made to the front underbody structure and footwell to improve occupant safety in driver-side and passenger-side small overlap front crashes. The moderate overlap front test earned a good rating, and the updated side impact test also received stellar marks.
The Cybertruck’s front crash prevention earned a good rating in pedestrian scenarios, with the standard Collision Avoidance Assist avoiding collisions in day and night tests across child, adult crossing, and parallel paths. Headlights with high-beam assist compensated for limitations, contributing to the top award.
Safest and most autonomous pickup
The Cybertruck is one of only two full-size pickups to receive the IIHS’ Top Safety Pick + rating. It is also the only one equipped with advanced self-driving features via Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system. Thanks to FSD, the Cybertruck can navigate inner city streets and highways on its own with minimal supervision, adding a layer of safety beyond passive crash protection.
Community reactions poured in, with users praising the vehicle’s safety rating amidst skepticism from critics. Tesla itself highlighted this by starting its X post with a short clip of a Cybertruck critic who predicted that the vehicle will likely not pass safety tests. The only question now is, of course, if the vehicle’s Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS will help the Cybertruck improve its sales.
Tesla gets bold Robotaxi prediction from Wall Street firm
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
