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Tesla’s Giga Berlin director responds to anti-Musk criticism
Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin Director weighs in on Elon Musk, sales in Germany, and more: “We focus on what we do best”
Following Tesla’s third anniversary of the opening of its plant in Grünheide, Germany, Tesla’s head of manufacturing for the facility has responded to questions about Elon Musk’s recent political alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump, a potential trade war, struggling sales in Germany, and several other topics.
Andre Thierig, Senior Director of Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin, spoke in an interview with German news outlet the Frankfurter Allgemeine this week, noting that the electric vehicle (EV) maker isn’t concerned about the recent political climate surrounding Musk and Trump. Rather, Thierig echoes a goal regularly stated by some of Tesla’s top executives and designers—that the company is simply hyper-focused on making great vehicles.
“We as a company and even more so as a factory location have never positioned ourselves politically,” Thierig said, as translated from German, when asked if the politicization of Musk was harming the brand or factory. “We focus on what we do best, namely to build cars, and very good and very many. For us, this is about production at the site and not in politics. We can separate that well.”
The interviewer also asked about the arson attacks from environmental activists last March, whether or not Tesla is expecting more situations like that, and if the company has taken any measures to increase security given the recent uptick in vandalism and protests worldwide.
Thierig notes that Giga Berlin has “further improved [its] network for sharing relevant information in order to be able to able to respond more quickly” to such attacks. He also says that employees on-site would take action if necessary.
Glad to see Giga Berlin churning out the new Model Y.🇩🇪
The ramp is underway!
Credit: @tobilindh
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 7, 2025
READ MORE ON TESLA GERMANY: Tesla Giga Berlin ramping to optimum production capacity: plant manager
Regarding Tesla’s decline in February sales in Germany, Thierig points to the shift to producing the new refreshed Model Y from the legacy version, which required the factory to shut down production for a few days. He also notes that he can’t directly comment on how many pre-orders Tesla received for the new Model Y, pointing out that his team and the factory were focused on production, instead leaving sales up to the sales division.
“We in the Gigafactory do not sell, we produce,” Thierig explains. “The sales figures are the responsibility of our sales organization. However, we know our production figures and our production planning, and we are currently moving production further high. Our delivery locations here and on the airport site in Neuhardenberg are relatively empty, so the cars are quickly entering the market.”
When asked if he was concerned about incoming tariffs from the Trump administration, Thierig says that the factory increased localization of suppliers with the recent switch to the new Model Y, adding that 92 percent of components for the EV now come from somewhere in Europe.
“This makes us even more resilient to disturbances in world trade,” he adds. “In addition, we have a high level of vertical integration at the site, which has already paid off in recent years. Neither the turbulence in the supply chains during the corona pandemic nor the chip crisis or the war in Ukraine have led to production disruptions in our country.”
The interview also touches on Giga Berlin’s long-awaited expansion plans, recent criticism from union IG Metall, what he expects from the incoming federal government, and how he believes that bureaucracy needs to be reduced in the country, among many other topics still.
Thierig has been with Tesla at Giga Berlin since August 2020, first working as a paint manager, before being promoted to Manufacturing Director and subsequently to Senior Director for the factory in general. Prior to that, Thierig was a 19-year veteran with Ford’s German operations, primarily working in paint engineering.
Tesla shares reservations about Giga Berlin’s revised water contract
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the insane capabilities of the next major Full Self-Driving update just hours after the company rolled out version 14.2 to owners.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 had some major improvements from the previous iteration of v14.1.x. We were on v14.1.7, the most advanced configuration of the v14.1 family, before Tesla transitioned us and others to v14.2.
However, Musk has said that the improvements coming in the next major update, which will be v14.3, will be where “the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.”
14.3 is where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2025
There were some major improvements with v14.2, most notably, Tesla seemed to narrow in on the triggers that caused issues with hesitation and brake stabbing in v14.1.x.
One of the most discussed issues with the past rollout was that of brake stabbing, where the vehicle would contemplate proceeding with a route as traffic was coming from other directions.
We experienced it most frequently at intersections, especially four-way stop signs.
Elon Musk hints at when Tesla can fix this FSD complaint with v14
In our review of it yesterday, it was evident that this issue had been resolved, at least to the extent that we had no issues with it in a 62-minute drive, which you can watch here.
Some owners also reported a more relaxed driver monitoring system, which is something Tesla said it was working on as it hopes to allow drivers to text during operation in the coming months. We did not test this, as laws in Pennsylvania prohibit the use of phones at any time due to the new Paul Miller’s Law, which took effect earlier this year.
However, the improvements indicate that Tesla is certainly headed toward a much more sentient FSD experience, so much so that Musk’s language seems to be more indicative of a more relaxed experience in terms of overall supervision from the driver, especially with v14.3.
Musk did not release or discuss a definitive timeline for the release of v14.3, especially as v14.2 just rolled out to Early Access Program (EAP) members yesterday. However, v14.1 rolled out to Tesla owners just a few weeks ago in late 2025. There is the potential that v14.3 could be part of the coming Holiday Update, or potentially in a release of its own before the New Year.
Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving version 14.2 yesterday to members of the Early Access Program (EAP). Expectations were high, and Tesla surely delivered.
With the rollout of Tesla FSD v14.2, there were major benchmarks for improvement from the v14.1 suite, which spanned across seven improvements. Our final experience with v14.1 was with v14.1.7, and to be honest, things were good, but it felt like there were a handful of regressions from previous iterations.
While there were improvements in brake stabbing and hesitation, we did experience a few small interventions related to navigation and just overall performance. It was nothing major; there were no critical takeovers that required any major publicity, as they were more or less subjective things that I was not particularly comfortable with. Other drivers might have been more relaxed.
With v14.2 hitting our cars yesterday, there were a handful of things we truly noticed in terms of improvement, most notably the lack of brake stabbing and hesitation, a major complaint with v14.1.x.
However, in a 62-minute drive that was fully recorded, there were a lot of positives, and only one true complaint, which was something we haven’t had issues with in the past.
The Good
Lack of Brake Stabbing and Hesitation
Perhaps the most notable and publicized issue with v14.1.x was the presence of brake stabbing and hesitation. Arriving at intersections was particularly nerve-racking on the previous version simply because of this. At four-way stops, the car would not be assertive enough to take its turn, especially when other vehicles at the same intersection would inch forward or start to move.
This was a major problem.
However, there were no instances of this yesterday on our lengthy drive. It was much more assertive when arriving at these types of scenarios, but was also more patient when FSD knew it was not the car’s turn to proceed.
Can report on v14.2 today there were ZERO instances of break stabbing or hesitation at intersections today
It was a significant improvement from v14.1.x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
This improvement was the most noticeable throughout the drive, along with fixes in overall smoothness.
Speed Profiles Seem to Be More Reasonable
There were a handful of FSD v14 users who felt as if the loss of a Max Speed setting was a negative. However, these complaints will, in our opinion, begin to subside, especially as things have seemed to be refined quite nicely with v14.2.
Freeway driving is where this is especially noticeable. If it’s traveling too slow, just switch to a faster profile. If it’s too fast, switch to a slower profile. However, the speeds seem to be much more defined with each Speed Profile, which is something that I really find to be a huge advantage. Previously, you could tell the difference in speeds, but not in driving styles. At times, Standard felt a lot like Hurry. Now, you can clearly tell the difference between the two.
It seems as if Tesla made a goal that drivers should be able to tell which Speed Profile is active if it was not shown on the screen. With v14.1.x, this was not necessarily something that could be done. With v14.2, if someone tested me on which Speed Profile was being used, I’m fairly certain I could pick each one.
Better Overall Operation
I felt, at times, especially with v14.1.7, there were some jerky movements. Nothing that was super alarming, but there were times when things just felt a little more finicky than others.
v14.2 feels much smoother overall, with really great decision-making, lane changes that feel second nature, and a great speed of travel. It was a very comfortable ride.
The Bad
Parking
It feels as if there was a slight regression in parking quality, as both times v14.2 pulled into parking spots, I would have felt compelled to adjust manually if I were staying at my destinations. For the sake of testing, at my first destination, I arrived, allowed the car to park, and then left. At the tail-end of testing, I walked inside the store that FSD v14.2 drove me to, so I had to adjust the parking manually.
This was pretty disappointing. Apart from parking at Superchargers, which is always flawless, parking performance is something that needs some attention. The release notes for v14.2. state that parking spot selection and parking quality will improve with future versions.
Any issues with parking on your end? 14.1.7 didn’t have this trouble with parking pic.twitter.com/JPLRO2obUj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 21, 2025
However, this was truly my only complaint about v14.2.
You can check out our full 62-minute ride-along below:
Elon Musk
SpaceX issues statement on Starship V3 Booster 18 anomaly
The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX has issued an initial statement about Starship Booster 18’s anomaly early Friday. The incident unfolded during gas-system pressure testing at the company’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX’s initial comment
As per SpaceX in a post on its official account on social media platform X, Booster 18 was undergoing gas system pressure tests when the anomaly happened. Despite the nature of the incident, the company emphasized that no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and personnel were kept at a safe distance from the booster, resulting in zero injuries.
“Booster 18 suffered an anomaly during gas system pressure testing that we were conducting in advance of structural proof testing. No propellant was on the vehicle, and engines were not yet installed. The teams need time to investigate before we are confident of the cause. No one was injured as we maintain a safe distance for personnel during this type of testing. The site remains clear and we are working plans to safely reenter the site,” SpaceX wrote in its post on X.
Incident and aftermath
Livestream footage from LabPadre showed Booster 18’s lower half crumpling around the liquid oxygen tank area at approximately 4:04 a.m. CT. Subsequent images posted by on-site observers revealed extensive deformation across the booster’s lower structure. Needless to say, spaceflight observers have noted that Booster 18 would likely be a complete loss due to its anomaly.
Booster 18 had rolled out only a day earlier and was one of the first vehicles in the Starship V3 program. The V3 series incorporates structural reinforcements and reliability upgrades intended to prepare Starship for rapid-reuse testing and eventual tower-catch operations. Elon Musk has been optimistic about Starship V3, previously noting on X that the spacecraft might be able to complete initial missions to Mars.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teases insane capabilities of next major FSD update
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
