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Tesla Giga Berlin in stunning 3D render is a sneak peek of Elon Musk’s grand plans in Germany
A new Tesla Giga Berlin rendering overlayed on a satellite 3D view of the Grunheide property provides a strong digital representation of Elon Musk’s massive electric vehicle factory to come.
Emil Senkel, hailed by German local publications as one of the most active Tesla fans and enthusiasts in the region, created a 3D Giga Berlin map that shows the factory with a solar roof, areas of the property that has been cleared of trees, employee parking, and railyard. The railroad and nearby roads are also accurately represented on the digital map.
🏞️ Here is a labeled map, it is a combination of my 3D #GigaBerlin and a satellite view 😄 pic.twitter.com/DgE412QrQX
— Emil Senkel (@EmilSenkel) March 6, 2020
Senkel rendered to life Tesla’s activities in Brandenburg as it prepares to hold a Giga Berlin groundbreaking ceremony later this month where CEO Elon Musk has confirmed his attendance. The maps are consistent with the latest reports showing more heavy machines and activities on the build site.
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- Tesla Giga Berlin rendering (Source: Emil Senkel | Twitter)
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- Tesla Giga Berlin rendering (Source: Emil Senkel | Twitter)
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- Tesla Giga Berlin rendering (Source: Emil Senkel | Twitter)
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- Tesla Giga Berlin rendering (Source: Emil Senkel | Twitter)
Another Tesla fan @DerCaspar reported via Twitter that there are around 19 excavators, 6 forwarders, 1 crane, several other heavy machines, and trucks in the Grunheide property. The activities are reminiscent of what happened when Tesla built Giga Shanghai, its car factory in China that was completed and operational in just 10 months.
Apologies! My brain froze due to siberian winds.
Here is a number update to my previous post below, is more like:
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-~ 19 Excavators !!
~ 6 Forwarders
~ 1 Crane drops huge weight
~ 1 root soil Sorter
~ 4 Shredder
~ 3 Bulldozer
~ 4 Trucks/Traktors
~ 6 Dixishttps://t.co/gvgmn05o83— Caspar – creating a positive future ✨ (@CasparThomale) March 7, 2020
Tesla completed the clearing of 93 hectares (229 acres), roughly a third of the total 300-hectare (741 acres) site, of land on Feb. 29 and has also ramped the installation of electric cables that will supply power to the construction site and later on to the factory itself.
Tesla is doing the current construction preparations and taking its own risks while waiting for permits from the government. The complaint period for the project recently ended and a public hearing will be conducted on March 18, after which the building permits will be discussed at the Ministry of Economics.
So far, lawmakers have seen how Tesla wants to conduct business in Germany — quick but doing everything within the bounds of the law and respecting nature. The Brandenburg Social Democratic Party chairman Erik Stohn said last week that they want to bring the Tesla Effect across the country.
“We want to take the Turbo Tesla pace across the country,” said Stohn, alluding to the speed seen during the build of Giga Shanghai in China.
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Tesla aims to turn the switch of Giga Berlin on by July 2021 and begin the production of the Model Y electric crossover. It plans to produce 10,000 units per week, an aggressive goal that can potentially have the Model Y redefining what “Elon Time” is all about.
Check out this new 4K drone footage by Tesla Kid Grunheide which shows the expanse of the Tesla property and the activities going on to prepare the land for construction.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
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