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Tesla Giga Berlin employees bid farewell to ‘Mister Gigafactory’
Tesla employees that are working at the company’s Giga Berlin project in Germany are bidding farewell to Evan Horetsky, the company’s manager for the site.
Tesla reportedly relieved Giga Berlin Horetsky from his position on Thursday. The reasons for his dismissal are currently unknown.
However, last week, Tesla’s Global Supply Manager of Construction, Michaela Schmitz, was already saying her goodbyes to Horetsky. “it was my honor to work for and with you. We will finish it for you, Giga Meister. Take care!!” she said on one of Horetsky’s LinkedIn posts.
According to Rbb24, a German media site, people close to the Giga Berlin project stated that Horetsky was relieved of his duties. Some are speculating it is because of the water bill fiasco that took place last week.
However, Schmitz’s post was published on Horetsky’s LinkedIn before the water bill issue took place. This indicates that Horetsky may have been let go before the water was shut off at the construction site, and could be an indication of why the bill wasn’t paid.
Teslarati reported the rumors of a water shutoff at the Giga Berlin site. However, the water was still seen running normally, and the project never halted, local sources said.
I was at the GIGABERLIN at 17:00 pm
and could see that the cement mixing plant was still working and cement transporters were cleaned, WITH WATER.
it looks like the water is running.!!!! pic.twitter.com/LYLdHZ9g0Z— Gigafactory Berlin News (@Gf4Tesla) October 15, 2020
However, the report from Rbb24 says that the Strausberg Erkner water association did have a past due amount that went unpaid. Tesla paid the balance, and the water service was reactivated shortly after.
The site reported:
“Last week, the Strausberg Erkner Tesla water association had temporarily shut off the construction water because a payment deadline had expired. After the money was received, the water ran again.”
While the water bill was quickly taken care of because there appeared to be no interruption in Giga Berlin’s construction, the project manager’s responsibility would likely be to ensure that no possibility of interruptions could occur. This starts with the routine paying of bills that keep the site operating as usual.
If Horetsky was let go on early last week, there may have been nobody to handle paying the bill, which could be the reason as to why the water was shut off at the site temporarily.
Interestingly, Horetsky has supervised other Tesla projects, including the completion of Tesla Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada, and the initial construction phases of Giga Shanghai in China. Horetsky also oversaw the Fremont plant’s preparations for vehicle production. It is possible that Horesky could be assisting with other Tesla projects, as Giga Texas is also in its construction stages.
During Tesla’s Q3 Earnings Call on Wednesday, October 21st, the company outlined the timeline for Giga Berlin’s first phases of production, which are expected to begin in Summer 2021.
The company said in its Update Letter:
“Construction of the Gigafactory in Berlin continues to progress rapidly. Buildings are under construction, and equipment move-in will start over the coming weeks. At the same time, the Giga Berlin team continues to grow. Production is expected to start in 2021.”
According to Tesla’s Senior VP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering Drew Baglino, Giga Berlin’s initial ramp will require assistance from its pilot 4680 battery cell production line in Fremont.
Tesla’s pilot 4680 battery cell line in CA will support Giga Berlin’s initial ramp
“We will incorporate 4680 design solutions into many applications in time across both energy and vehicle, and we can use our pilot production facility in Fremont to support the new factory in Berlin as it ramps,” Baglino said.
Tesla will introduce the Model Y to Giga Berlin’s production lines initially but plans to manufacture other vehicles at the German plant in the future.
SpaceX officially launched the Starlink Mini 2 on November 10, delivering the first portable Starlink terminal designed around independent power.
Invitation-only preorders for select U.S. customers are priced at $999 plus tax, a figure that includes a full year of Roam Unlimited service valued at roughly $2,100. A refundable $100 deposit reserves the kit, with the balance due at shipment, expected to begin in mid-December. Broader availability is listed as coming soon.
Starlink just unveiled Mini 2, its next-gen portable dish.
Quick-swap battery, up to 4.5 hrs per charge
USB-C power
Built-in Wi-Fi
Online in about 60 secondsPreorders are open now. https://t.co/QawqgbswrQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
The headline feature is the quick-swap 71 Wh battery. Clipped to the rear of the dish without tools, it delivers up to 4.5 hours of connectivity on a single charge.
The 490-gram pack includes its own USB-C port and LED indicators, so users can charge a spare separately and swap it in seconds while staying online. Starlink notes that the terminal can continue operating while the battery charges or run directly from a 60 W USB-C source. The retail box includes one battery, a 60 W USB-C charger, and a 3-meter cable.
Beyond power, the Mini 2 is thinner at 23.1 mm (versus 38.5 mm on the original Mini) while measuring 263 × 314 mm. With the battery and kickstand attached it weighs 1.6 kg.
Built-in Wi-Fi 6 expands coverage to up to 1,800 square feet, an IP67 rating protects against dust and water, and a standard 1/4-20 tripod thread plus physical power button round out the design. Field of view remains 110 degrees, and the unit retains support for mobile use.
For travelers, campers, and remote workers, the swappable battery removes the longstanding requirement for an external power bank or vehicle outlet that defined the first Mini. Spare packs sold separately further extend runtime, turning the compact terminal into a more self-contained solution.
While the bundled $999 invitation price sits well above the original Mini’s current $149 starting point, the included year of service and genuine untethered operation mark a clear step forward in portable satellite internet.
Elon Musk
SpaceX’s $24B Starbase supercomputer plan slipped past a key roadblock
SpaceX wants a Starbase tax break for a $24 billion gas plant and supercomputer campus.
SpaceX is asking its own company town for a tax break on a $24 billion natural gas power plant and supercomputing facility at Starbase, Texas, and the land it picked sits just outside the reach of a data center moratorium that took effect in neighboring Brownsville last week.
A City of Starbase public hearing notice says SpaceX “proposes to construct, own, and operate a gas-fired power plant and super-compute facility” on roughly 444 acres between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville. The $24 billion figure covers only the initial phases, and the notice leaves room for future expansions. The Starbase City Commission will consider a property tax abatement and a related economic development agreement at a 7 p.m. hearing on December 9. The notice does not disclose the size or length of the abatement, or how much computing capacity the site would hold.
The location has a history. Over the summer, SpaceX asked Brownsville to remove the tract from its city limits and offered $220 million for water and wastewater projects in return. Brownsville approved the move in August, and Starbase later annexed the land. Brownsville’s own 90-day pause on data center applications took effect last week, and had the tract stayed inside the city, the project likely would have needed a different home.
The power side is already in front of state regulators. SpaceX has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for air permits covering 35 mobile gas turbines producing roughly 750 megawatts, according to Politico, which also noted that two of the three Starbase commissioners voting on the incentives are SpaceX executives.
Building its own plant lets SpaceX skip the Texas grid. Gov. Greg Abbott paused new data center grid connections in August pending an audit, but a facility that generates its own electricity does not need one. The air permit still has to clear the TCEQ, where Abbott also ordered a halt on data center permits.
The bigger test arrives in January. Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who unseated Abbott last week, has said she will block data center approvals until the legislature passes new protections, and she has already asked state officials to hold off on any sale of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX until she is sworn in. Tesla and SpaceX shares both fell the day after the election, and Musk’s first reaction on X was “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”
That line points to Starmind, SpaceX’s orbital compute constellation. Musk has said terrestrial compute will be “peanuts compared to orbital compute” and expects monthly orbital deployments to pass ground deployments around the end of 2028, as Teslarati reported. Until then, SpaceX still needs gigawatts on the ground. It ended the third quarter with 1.7 GW of nameplate compute, is targeting 2.5 to 3 GW by the end of this year and wants at least 10 GW more in 2027. Its existing Colossus sites around Memphis already run on gas turbines and face a lawsuit from residents over emissions.
Local reaction is split. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network has announced a protest, citing air quality, water use and energy bills, while some Brownsville residents told the Tribune they welcome the jobs. SpaceX did not respond to the Tribune’s questions about the project.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will extend Cybertruck production slightly to handle its extensive order backlog.
On Wednesday, Musk announced that “In order to work through more of the Cybertruck order backlog, production will be extended through the end of summer 2027.”
In order to work through more of the Cybertruck order backlog, production will be extended through the end of summer 2027
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2026
Tesla has already attempted to simplify its last months of production for the Cybertruck by eliminating several trim levels and only offering the Cyberbeast, the most expensive trim that starts at $109,990. The other two trim levels, the Cybertruck All-Wheel-Drive and Premium All-Wheel-Drive have both been discontinued.
There has been plenty of backlash against Tesla’s decision to ax the Cybertruck, but the company’s forecast prioritizes Cybercab and autonomy. Factory space at Gigafactory Texas that is not necessary is now being set aside for the Cybercab as the company truly embraces its “transportation-as-a-service” model.
There is still a slim chance the Cybertruck survives. Last evening, Tesla upfitter Unplugged Performance offered to take the Cybertruck line off of Tesla’s hands and continue building it, along with a CyberSUV.
Nevertheless, Tesla seems to be ending the Cybertruck on its terms after what will be a three-and-a-half-year run. It still does not really feel quite real; I think many of us thought the Cybertruck would be around for years to come.
Musk added more detail, stating that while it was not the smartest move, “there must be some room in this world for sentimentality or what’s the point?”
This is not the smartest move from a profit-maximizing standpoint btw, but there must be some room in this world for sentimentality or what’s the point?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2026
Other EV pickups on the market have experienced a similar fate.
The Ford F-150 Lightning was axed by the Detroit company due to the continued losses the company took from sales. That truck was never profitable, and Ford is still taking a quarterly loss in its EV side. However, things are moving along as it has plans for a mass market EV pickup, which will likely gather some substantial demand if Ford can get it just right.
Perhaps another extension or even a total change of heart might come. Only Musk knows.
Starlink Mini 2 arrives with one feature for true off-grid connectivity
SpaceX’s $24B Starbase supercomputer plan slipped past a key roadblock
