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Tesla considering Germany’s most populous state as potential Gigafactory 4 site

Tesla factory in Tilburg, Netherlands. (Credit: Tesla)

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6 years ago

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Just days after reports emerged that Tesla is looking into the German state of Lower Saxony as the potential site for its Europe Gigafactory, new reports from the region have revealed that another area in Germany, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), is being considered by the electric car maker as the location of its upcoming facility. 

Citing people familiar with the matter, German news agency The Rheinische Post reported on Sunday that Tesla is considering the NRW, Germany’s most populous state, as Gigafactory 4’s potential location. While brief, the Post‘s report stated that first inspections in the state have already taken place. 

Tesla Europe, for its part, has not issued a statement about The Rheinische Post‘s recent report. 

The idea of establishing a Gigafactory in Europe was initially mentioned by Elon Musk in late 2016 through statements made after Tesla acquired Grohmann Engineering. Musk provided more details about Tesla’s plans for Gigafactory 4 in June 2018, noting on Twitter that Germany was the leading choice for the upcoming facility’s location. “Perhaps on the German-French border makes sense, near the Benelux countries,” Musk tweeted.

With this in mind, the German sites currently under consideration make perfect sense. The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), for example, shares a border with the Netherlands and Belgium. Lower Saxony, the other state reportedly being considered by Tesla, shares a border with the Netherlands, as noted in a Reuters report. 

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An official from the state of NRW has not shared any insights about Tesla’s inspection or reported initiatives in the area, though Lower Saxony Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann has noted that his region will be a good match for the electric car maker. 

“A good location in the European transport network including port connections, a dynamic research landscape and renewable energies on the doorstep: Lower Saxony is one of the world’s top regions of the automotive industry, which is also Tesla known,” Althusmann said.

Tesla appears to be closing in on Germany as the site for its Europe Gigafactory, which will likely produce vehicles that are intended to be distributed to the region. With its aggressive emissions targets, Europe is projected to be the auto industry’s second-largest driver for electric vehicles over the next decade, trailing only China. With this in mind, Gigafactory 4 could serve a similar purpose as Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, which is expected to cater to the local Chinese market.

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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 lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

Published

17 hours ago

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September 11, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has landed a regulatory green light to test its Robotaxi platform in a new state, less than three months after the ride-hailing service launched in Texas.

Tesla first launched its driverless Robotaxi suite in Austin, Texas, back on June 22. Initially offering rides to a small group of people, Tesla kept things limited, but this was not to be the mentality for very long.

It continued to expand the rider population, the service area, and the vehicle fleet in Austin.

The company also launched rides in the Bay Area, but it does use a person in the driver’s seat to maintain safety. In Austin, the “Safety Monitor” is present in the passenger’s seat during local rides, and in the driver’s seat for routes that involve highway driving.

Tesla is currently testing the Robotaxi platform in other states. We reported that it was testing in Tempe, Arizona, as validation vehicles are traveling around the city in preparation for Robotaxi.

Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla is also hoping to launch in Florida and New York, as job postings have shown the company’s intention to operate there.

However, it appears it will launch in Nevada before those states, as the company submitted its application to obtain a Testing Registry certification on September 3. It was processed by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Business Licensing on September 10.

It will then need to self-certify for operations, essentially meaning they will need to comply with various state requirements.

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

CEO Elon Musk has stated that he believes Robotaxi will be available to at least half of the U.S. population by the end of the year. Geographically, Tesla will need to make incredible strides over the final four months of the year to achieve this.

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Tesla is improving this critical feature in older vehicles

Published

19 hours ago

on

September 11, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is set to improve a critical feature that has not been present in older vehicles with a new update.

Tesla vehicles feature a comprehensive suite of driver assistance features, some of which aid in driving itself, while others support the vehicle’s surroundings.

One of those features is that of Driver Visualization, and with the rollout of a new update, owners of Intel-based Tesla vehicles are receiving an upgrade that will come with a simple software update.

Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

The update will provide new visualizations while Intel-based vehicles are in reverse, a feature that was not previously available, but will be with Software Update 2025.32.2.

The improvement was spotted by Not a Tesla App via TheBeatYT_evil:

Previously, vehicles Tesla built were equipped with Intel-based processors, but newer cars feature the AMD chip, which is capable of rendering these visualizations as they happen. They were capable of visualizations when driving forward, but not in reverse, which is what this change resolves.

It is a good sign for those with Intel-based vehicles, as Tesla seems to be paying attention to what those cars are not capable of and improving them.

This was an undocumented improvement associated with this particular update, so you will not find any mention of it in the release notes that Tesla distributes with each update.

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Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

Published

21 hours ago

on

September 11, 2025

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla is looking to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market, as the company was spotted testing validation vehicles in one region where it has not yet launched its ride-hailing service.

After launching Robotaxi in Austin in late June, Tesla followed up with a relatively quick expansion to the Bay Area of California. Both service areas are operating with a geofence that is expansive: In Texas, it is 173 square miles, while in the Bay Area, it is roughly 400 square miles.

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

There have been plenty of reports out there that have speculated as to where Tesla would land next to test Robotaxi, and Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and New York have all been in the realm of possibility. These regions will need to approve Tesla for regulatory purposes before Robotaxi can officially operate.

Tesla is still testing and performing validation in several regions, and in Tempe, Arizona, things are moving forward as a Model Y with a LiDAR rig was spotted performing ground truth for the platform:

With the LiDAR unit, many followers of the self-driving and autonomy space might wonder why Tesla uses these apparatuses during validation, especially considering the company’s stance and vision-based approach.

LiDAR is used for “ground truth,” which is basically a solidification or confirmation of what the cameras on the car are seeing. It is a great way to essentially confirm the accuracy of the vision-based suite, and will not be used on Robotaxi units used within the ride-hailing suite.

The Robotaxi platform was made available to the public earlier this month, as Tesla launched its app for iOS users.

Tesla Robotaxi app download rate demolishes Uber, Waymo all-time highs

Downloading the app allows you to join a waitlist, giving you the opportunity to utilize and test the Robotaxi platform in either Austin or the Bay Area.

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