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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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Tesla launches new feature that cold climate drivers will love
Tesla’s steering wheels are getting better with this simple yet effective software update.
Tesla is launching another new feature in its cars, this time it will cater to those in colder climates, and those drivers will love it.
Perhaps one of the best things about Teslas is that they routinely receive over-the-air software updates that either improve the ownership experience, add features, or make their performance more robust.
Every update offers some sort of bug fix or new feature that simply makes the cars better than they were before. For example, earlier this week, we reported on a new third-party charger latch release feature that will help those with non-Tesla home charging plugs.
Now, Tesla is releasing a new improvement to its heated steering wheel system, which has been around for several years. The new feature is one that will improve its performance and have your wheel nice and toasty the next time you get in, and it is a bit chilly outside.
According to Not a Tesla App, Tesla rolled out the Heated Steering Wheel improvements with the 2024.14 software update:
“If the steering wheel heater is set to Auto, the steering wheel will now heat up based on the cabin temperature, even if the climate system is set manually.
Previously, the climate system needed to be set to Auto for the steering wheel heater to turn on automatically.”
The change impacts all five Tesla models, the release notes state.
The heated steering wheel is one of the features that Tesla has used to help cater the vehicle’s overall performance to those in colder climates.
Tesla Model 3 with heated steering wheel begins US deliveries
Just as the air-conditioned and cooling seats are beneficial during the Summer months, the heated steering wheel is incredibly beneficial to those drivers in colder parts of the globe.
News
Tesla announces massive new achievement with 8 million cars produced
Tesla’s 8 millionth car comes just 8 months after it built its 7 millionth car.
Tesla announced a massive new achievement in relation to its automotive division as it has officially built 8 million cars globally.
The 8 millionth car rolled off production lines at Gigafactory Berlin on Friday, the company announced. The car was an Ultra Red Model Y, images show:
Produced our 8 millionth vehicle at Giga Berlin pic.twitter.com/gv1moWhwTH
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 6, 2025
The car comes just about eight months after Tesla built its 7 millionth car at the Fremont Factory last October, a major accomplishment considering the claims of a lack of demand from the media.
Additionally, Tesla was able to achieve this major threshold with a stoppage in production at each of its four production facilities earlier this year. The manufacturing halt was attributed to a production line changeover for the new Model Y crossover.
The car has been the best-selling vehicle in the world for two consecutive years, and the company pausing production for two weeks, yet still managed to produce one million cars in eight months is impressive.
Tesla currently only produces the Model Y at Gigafactory Berlin, but the car is also manufactured at Gigafactory Shanghai, Gigafactory Texas, and the Fremont Factory.
It is the only model to be produced at all four of Tesla’s global manufacturing plants, which span across three different continents.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk and Donald Trump to speak with each other Friday: report
White House aides have scheduled a call between the CEO and U.S. President on Friday.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s feud seems to be thawing, at least to some degree.
As per a recent Politico report, White House aides have scheduled a call between the CEO and U.S. President on Friday.
Musk vs. Trump
Musk turned into a staunch critic of Trump amidst the administration’s efforts to pass the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which the CEO claimed would add trillions to the country’s deficit. Trump, for his part, claimed that Musk turned on him due to the adverse effects of the proposed bill on his companies.
The spat between the two powerful men became so notable that Musk called for the impeachment of Trump on X. He also claimed that Trump was in the Epstein list. The U.S. President, for his part, threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of government contracts with Musk’s companies such as SpaceX.
Potential Truce
As per Politico, however, White House aides have stepped in to temper the tensions and broker peace between the two powerful men. When asked by the outlet about his ongoing feud with the CEO, Trump reportedly stated that “it’s okay” and that “it’s going very well, never done better.” The U.S. President also highlighted his favorability ratings, stating that his “numbers are through the roof.”
While the CEO was very aggressive against Trump in his X posts, he did back down somewhat after some time. When hedge fund manager Bill Ackman argued that Trump and Musk should make peace for the benefit of the United States, the CEO responded with, “You’re not wrong.” Musk also walked back on his decision to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is essential to NASA’s operations.
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