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Tesla Giga Berlin buildout halted anew as state office demands €100M security deposit

Credit: @gigafactory_4/Twitter

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Tesla’s construction of its Gigafactory Berlin facility has been halted once more, this time reportedly over a security deposit that the electric car maker was reportedly unable to provide on time. The security deposit, which is worth €100 million ($120 million), is allotted for the potential demolition of the Giga Berlin site if the facility’s final permits end up being rejected. 

As noted in a recent report from local news agency Zeit, a decision from the State Office for the Environment has demanded that Tesla provide Giga Berlin’s security deposit by December 17. As the electric car maker was reportedly unable to meet this deadline, work on the Gigafactory complex, such as the installation of painting machines in the paint shop, would be halted for the time being. 

Tesla has been building Gigafactory Berlin at a lightning-quick pace, in no small part due to the facility’s use of prefabricated concrete materials. However, a final building permit is yet to be secured by the electric car maker. Tesla has so far been utilizing partial approvals to build several key sections of the upcoming facility, and for the most part, it has worked. The Gigafactory Berlin complex has grown significantly over the past year. 

Without a final approval, the possibility of Giga Berlin being ultimately rejected still exists. If this were to happen, Tesla or another company must demolish the structures that have already been built on the site. The $120 million security deposit serves as funding for this scenario. 

Tesla has been granted an extension to file its security deposit for Gigafactory Berlin. The new deadline is set for January 4, 2021. Tesla has not issued a comment about the recent halt so far. 

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Gigafactory Berlin has seen some roadblocks in recent weeks. Just recently, Tesla had been ordered to stop its tree-clearing activities in a section of the Gigafactory site over environmental concerns. Despite this, expectations are still high that Model Y production could begin sometime in 2021 at the Germany-based factory. 

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges

New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October. 

New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.

Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.

The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.

This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.

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For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.

“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Shortand was portrayed by Christian Bale.

Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”

Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation

For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.

Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.

While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.

Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.

In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.

Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.

It closed at $430.14 on Monday.

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Tesla is making a change to its exterior cameras with a potential upgrade

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla appears to be making a change to its exterior side repeater cameras, which are used for the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, and other features, like Sentry Mode.

The change appears to be a potential upgrade in preparation for the AI5 suite, which CEO Elon Musk said will be present on a handful of vehicles next year, but will not be widely implemented until 2027.

Currently, Tesla uses a Sony sensor lens with the model number IMX963, a 5-megapixel camera with better dynamic range and low-light performance over the past iteration in Hardware 3 vehicles. Cameras in HW3 cars were only 1.2 megapixels.

However, Tesla is looking to upgrade, it appears, as Tesla hacker greentheonly has spotted a new sensor model in its firmware code, with the model number IMX00N being explicitly mentioned:

Sony has not announced any formal specifications for the IMX00N model, and although IMX963 has been used in AI4/HW4 vehicles, it only makes sense that Tesla would prepare to upgrade these external cameras once again in preparation for what it believes to be the second hardware iteration capable of fully autonomous self-driving.

Tesla has maintained that AI4/HW4 vehicles are capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 will likely help the company make significant strides, especially in terms of overall performance and data collection.

Tesla last updated its exterior cameras on its vehicles back in early 2023, as it transitioned to the 5-megapixel IMX963. It also added additional cameras to its vehicles in January with the new Model Y, which featured an additional lens on the front bumper to help with Full Self-Driving.

Tesla’s new self-driving computer (HW4): more cameras, radar, and more

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