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Tesla’s 4680 battery plant in Germany shouldn’t delay Giga Berlin’s initial production dates
Tesla’s Giga Berlin production facility is going to have a 4680 battery cell manufacturing plant on site. While some media outlets claim a delay in the Giga Berlin timeline should be expected due to the battery facility being added onto Tesla’s application, there isn’t any evidence to indicate that Tesla’s electric vehicles will be produced any later than the company expects.
The Tesla Giga Berlin production plant project has been one of the most anticipated vehicle manufacturing facilities in recent memory. But what started as Tesla’s way to introduce its products on a wider scale to the European market has become a long and drawn-out game of chess between the California automaker and German regulators. The most recent move in the plans occurred several days ago when Tesla finally decided to add its planned 4680 battery cell manufacturing plant to its application, bringing on the idea that the car company would be able to produce and install its own in-house batteries into its industry-leading electric cars.
However, the inclusion of the cell manufacturing plant in the newly revised application gives some the idea that Tesla’s project in Germany could sustain further delays. However, Teslarati sources in Germany say that the project shouldn’t incur any further delays; it will just require more deliberation on the part of the German authorities, who have the ultimate say in the project’s progress. While Tesla executives have recently voiced their discontent for the timeliness of the approval process, the sources indicate that German regulators are already talking about the inclusion of the 4680 battery factory at the Giga Berlin property, meaning the process, while deliberate, shouldn’t affect Tesla’s timeframes for initial EV production.
Tesla’s 4680 battery cells were unveiled at the company’s Battery Day in September 2020. The cells differ greatly from the 2170 cells by offering more energy, range, and power through numerous developments made by Tesla’s battery cell team.
Tesla originally planned to have Giga Berlin up and running later this year, and Summer 2021 was a timeframe that was commonly mentioned within the automaker’s plans. However, the ultimate authority who has the final say in when the electric vehicle manufacturing facility is the State Environmental Agency, who will now have to backtrack slightly as the application for Tesla’s production plant will need revisions due to the newly-included 4680 cell building will need to be considered. There is no separate application for the 4680 plant. Instead, it is simply added to the already-existing “master” application for the Giga Berlin facility.
“If this additional investment now flows into the permit application, it goes without saying that the application documents must be revised, and then the approval authorities have the last word,” Dietmar Woidke, Brandenburg’s Prime Minister, said, according to Automobilewoche. “We are well-advised to do everything we can to ensure that the entire permit for car production in Grünheide runs in a legally secure manner. The further process is currently being discussed.”
Tesla Giga Berlin’s battery factory deemed “very important” investment by minister
Woidke is a supporter of Tesla’s project and called the inclusion of the battery plant “positive news” for Germany as a whole. The plant, when finished, will provide a substantial number of employment opportunities for German citizens and will provide a healthy economic impact in the area.
German regulators have already taken their time with preliminary approvals for the facility due to refined and deliberate examinations of all elements involved. Tesla has been doing all of the work on the property without anything more than these preliminary approvals. Effectively, Tesla is running an “at-your-own-risk” construction project in Germany, and if regulators decide in a few months they do not want an electric vehicle manufacturing plant to operate in the area, Tesla will be required to bring the land back to its original state, assuming all financial risk. This scenario, while relatively unlikely, would be a blow not only to Tesla but the electric vehicle movement as a whole, as the largest EV company in the world would be extracted from the largest EV market in the world.
Tesla has likely come to the conclusion that the Summer production and delivery timeframe is not going to be achieved. In its latest Earnings Call Update Letter that was released on Monday, April 26th, the company said:
“In Europe, buildout of Gigafactory Berlin is continuing to move forward, with production and deliveries remaining on track for late 2021. Machinery for paint, stamping, castings, etc., continues to be moved into the building. In the meantime, we will continue to increase import volumes to Europe.”
However, the 4680 cell plant shouldn’t prolong Tesla’s initial vehicle manufacturing efforts. While the initial timeframes for vehicle production have been pushed back from the Summer to the end of the year, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the 4680 plant’s inclusion will simply prolong Tesla’s construction efforts, and not necessarily the initial production effort’s start date.
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production sometime in mid-2027, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Musk made the announcement on X last night, which came as a shock to many. He said that the Cybertruck will end production “to make room for increased Cybercab production” at Gigafactory Texas.
It is a huge blow to the fans of Tesla who have come to love the Cybertruck and identify with it as a symbol of their fandom. It has been the best-selling electric pickup, but it has had an underwhelming sales performance in terms of what was expected. This is mostly due to Tesla not meeting the prices it planned to offer the Cybertruck, as its unveiling and actual release were four years apart.
Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2026
Overall, the responses were mixed. Some fans understood the move toward Cybercab production, especially as Tesla is truly pushing the autonomous future through its Robotaxi platform. However, others did not understand it.
“Damn, how many Cybercabs do you guys need?” one response read. Another said it was “Sad but understandable.”Even analyst Gary Black had responded to the news, stating he hoped Tesla planned to replace it with a traditional pickup design.
It doesn’t seem like that will be the case.
Tesla is so hell-bent on delivering autonomy and eventually providing a driverless service that owning a car seems like an arbitrary idea, according to their thesis. Instead, Cybercabs will be available to pick you up and drop you off on demand, safely, without any human help.
As a result, Tesla has thinned its lineup considerably, and one can only ask where the vehicle lineup goes from here. Eventually, it seems like Cybercab could be the only vehicle that Tesla will sell.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15 and its first ship catch.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, the mission the company plans to use for its first attempt at catching the ship itself with the launch tower.
SpaceX Vice President of Launch Kiko Dontchev shared the date on stage at the UP.Summit on Thursday, according to Ars Technica’s Eric Berger, who was in attendance. It is the first launch target to come directly from a SpaceX executive. Until now, the public schedule had relied on FAA air traffic planning slides, which listed Flight 15 for no earlier than November 8 and later November 12. SpaceX has not posted an official mission page yet, and no launch time has been shared.
The date lands inside the window Elon Musk sketched out last month. Speaking at Giga Texas on October 10, Musk said the flight would “probably launch a little bit before Thanksgiving,” as Teslarati reported. On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call ten days later, he confirmed that Flight 15 would try to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the ship, and put the odds of a successful ship catch at “more likely than not.” SpaceX also aired an animation of the maneuver during that webcast, showing the ship swinging vertical over Starbase before dropping into the tower’s chopsticks.
The hardware is ready. Booster 22 fired all 33 of its Raptor engines for a full duration static fire at Pad 2 on October 25. Ship 42 followed with a single engine burn simulating a deorbit maneuver on October 26 and a 60 second firing of all six engines the next day, according to NASASpaceflight. Ship 42 had already rehearsed the catch in September, when the Pad 2 arms lifted it into position and crews connected the quick disconnect arm while the vehicle hung from the tower.
The remaining hurdle is regulatory. The FAA’s Starship page does not yet list a Flight 15 license. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in October that, after “significant constructive engagement with the FAA,” she expects the license to cover a return to the launch site and a tower catch for both stages. Bringing the ship home means a reentry path that heads toward land, rather than ending over open ocean as every Starship flight so far has.
SpaceX has caught Super Heavy three times, on Flights 5, 7 and 8, but the ship comes back from orbital velocity and has never been caught. Flight 14 on September 28 was the first Starship to reach orbit, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down despite an early engine shutdown that Musk blamed on engine computer software.
Musk has called a successful ship catch “the first time that there’s been full recovery of an orbital class rocket,” and he has already named the step after it: a Flight 16 where both the booster and the ship fly again. NASASpaceflight reports that Ship 43, the next vehicle in line, is set for static fire testing in December.
EVgo has tapped Tesla Superchargers for its most recent efforts to expand its charging presence in the United States, a move that seems logical based on the effectiveness of the automaker’s own infrastructure.
EVgo opened its first Supercharger site in Illinois, a 12-stall station near downtown Chicago at 3145 South Ashland Avenue in the Riverside Square & River’s Edge center, right beside a grocery store. This marks the start of the company’s plan to deploy hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the United States, primarily at grocery-anchored Regency Centers properties where drivers can shop, eat, or run errands while they charge.
We’ve opened our first EVgo Supercharger location in Illinois, marking the start of our plan to add hundreds of Supercharger stalls across the U.S.
Designed for both NACS and CCS vehicles with Magic Dock technology, these new sites help make fast charging more accessible and convenient for all EV drivers. Learn more: https://t.co/V92t5FDryQ
— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) November 5, 2026
The new location uses Tesla’s Magic Dock technology so both NACS and CCS vehicles can plug in natively without drivers needing to carry their own adapters. Peak power reaches 325 kW at this site, with pricing set between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh depending on the hour—the same rate for Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.
The stalls also appear in Tesla’s in-car navigation and Trip Planner, making them easy for Tesla owners to find and route to. Illinois has seen EV registrations rise nearly 60 percent over the past two years, and EVgo’s broader network has experienced more than 700 percent growth in charging demand over three years, so the timing fits the market’s trajectory.
Choosing Tesla hardware through the Supercharger for Business program turns out to have been a smart, practical move.
Tesla’s V4 stalls and cabinets deliver high, reliable power with a proven track record of strong uptime, while Magic Dock delivers true dual-standard compatibility in one package. Because the sites show up in Tesla’s navigation tools, EVgo instantly gains visibility among millions of existing Tesla drivers, which should raise utilization and help the company double its addressable market as more vehicles adopt NACS. EVgo still owns the stations and sets pricing, yet benefits from Tesla’s established hardware, longer cables, and operational support.
The result is faster, lower-risk infrastructure expansion that serves every EV driver—Tesla or otherwise—with convenient, high-power charging at everyday retail locations. For drivers, that means fewer adapters, more predictable stops, and a denser network just as electric vehicles become everyday transportation.
Tesla is ending Cybertruck production
SpaceX’s next Starship flight set to make history on Friday the 13th
