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Tesla Model Y production at Giga Berlin will redefine ‘Elon Time’
Tesla has made strides in terms of adjusting the timeline of Model Y deliveries. From Fall of 2020, Elon Musk and his team moved it up to Summer this year. During the company’s Q4 2019 earnings call, the carmaker announced that the initial delivery of the much-awaited electric crossover will actually happen this March. This says a lot on how the Silicon Valley-based carmaker has matured through the years.
Tesla began limited production of the Model Y at its Fremont factory and it has also started building the next phase of Giga Shanghai meant for the production of the crossover SUV. Giga Berlin would be the next big thing and with its learnings from the Model Y program in Fremont and Shanghai, the production of the Model Y in Germany may help Tesla redefine “Elon Time.”
Biggest Room For Improvement
Tesla is undeniably the leader in the electric vehicle industry. Even automotive giants have acknowledged that Tesla is the standard that they need to catch up to.
Tesla has great products and a CEO with great vision but if there’s one aspect of business all loyal followers would love to see, it’s in the timely delivery of its vehicles. Depending on how efficient ongoing production is and how many standing preorders are to be served, waiting times could be a few weeks, to a month, to a few months, or even a year or so for products that are yet to be produced. Delays, such as those experienced by reservation holders of the Model X, have even inspired the meme-worthy moniker of “Elon Time,” a reference to the CEO’s optimistic target timeframes.
Tesla’s logistics does not depend on any third-party franchise dealerships like other automakers but rather its own stores and delivery centers. Elon Musk has continually strived to improve delivery times and part of the strategy is by bringing Tesla’s car factories to its customers. Thus, Giga Shanghai is set to give a strong foothold in the biggest automotive market in the globe. Then, there’s Giga Berlin that would cater to Germany and the rest of Europe.
“It kind of makes sense. But what we’re doing — or have been doing in the past was really pretty silly in making cars in California and then shipping them halfway around the world to Asia and Europe. And this created a lot of cost, because you got to ship those cars, so they got lot of finished goods, sitting on the order or waiting at the port or going through customs, you got tariffs, transport,” said Musk. This also addresses the complexity of fulfilling the build according to the regulations of different regions.
Tesla’s Transformation as a Mature Car Manufacturer
The Tesla Giga Berlin groundbreaking is expected to happen this March and Elon Musk hopes to flick the switch on of the first Gigafactory in Europe by July 2021 to begin the production of the Model Y for Germany and the rest of Europe.
Tesla has proven itself capable of sticking to timelines when it comes to building its Gigafactories. For example, It practically turned a muddy field in China into an operational car factory in 10 months. In Germany, it has been cooperating with federal and local authorities and has addressed concerns of environmental groups to get closer and closer to laying the first brick of Giga Berlin in Grunheide.
The more interesting thing to take note of is how Tesla outlined its goals for Giga Berlin.
“Phase 1 will focus on production of Model Y, with a target capacity of 10,000 vehicles per week. We estimate that during Phase 1, we will employ up to 12,000 people, with roles being filled by local residents and employees from wider Europe,” the Giga Berlin website reads.
Manufacturing cars is far from making pancakes. Tesla’s Fremont factory has a current capacity of producing 400,000 combined Model 3 and Model Y units per year. Giga Shanghai, meanwhile, aims to do 150,000 vehicles annually. To do 10,000 units per week is a gargantuan task but realizing that Elon Musk has been underpromising and over-delivering when it comes to the Model Y, perhaps Tesla has indeed started using advanced manufacturing techniques that the CEO hinted at during a Model 3 event in Shanghai.
“Model Y will also have some advanced manufacturing technology that we will reveal in the future. I think it will be exciting to show the kind of manufacturing technology associated with the Model Y and it will be exciting to learn about these technologies,” Musk said.
No one exactly knows what these manufacturing technologies are but there are speculations that the Model Y will heavily rely on casting to quickly and efficiently produce the vehicle’s essential parts. This is also what’s suggested by earlier patents of the company.
The Model Y could be the first vehicle that demonstrates the company’s improving efficiency. It unveiled the Model Y prototype in March 2019 and it’s delivering the first units this month to consumers. This could partly be due to the Model Y sharing about 75% of its DNA with its Model 3 sibling, but it reflects Tesla’s manufacturing advancements nonetheless.
New Elon Time
If Giga Berlin remains on schedule and Tesla starts Model Y production in Germany, a country that highly values punctuality, on time, it could give its sales books a good boost as the vehicle is perfectly timed for Europe’s crossover growth. Sales of compact SUVs are forecasted to be flat this year with LCM Automotive predicting only about 2 million units in the segment as carmakers transition from older vehicles to electric vehicles. As Giga Berlin begins production of the Model Y, there is an expected uptick in demand with sales rising to 2.4 million units per year to about 2.8 million by the mid-2020s.
Beyond earnings, the redefinition Elon Time by a timely Model Y production and delivery will help Tesla gain the respect of other car manufacturers, the market, and investors. The new Elon Time would further prove why Tesla has the loyal following, and why it will be like that for a foreseeable future.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals date of Tesla Full Self-Driving’s next massive release
Initially planned for a January or February release, v14.3 aims to add some reasoning and logic to the decisions that Full Self-Driving makes, which could improve a lot of things, including Navigation, which is a major complaint of many owners currently.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the date of Full Self-Driving’s next massive release: v14.3.
For months, Tesla owners with Hardware 4 have been utilizing Full Self-Driving v14.2 and subsequent releases. Currently, the most up-to-date FSD version is v14.2.2.5, which has definitely brought out mixed reviews. With releases, some things get better, and other things might regress slightly.
For the most part, things are better in terms of overall behavior.
However, many owners have been looking forward to the next release, which is v14.3, about which Musk has said many great things. Back in November, Musk said that v14.3 “is where the last big piece of the puzzle lands.”
He added:
“We’re gonna add a lot of reasoning and RL (reinforcement learning). To get to serious scale, Tesla will probably need to build a giant chip fab. To have a few hundred gigawatts of AI chips per year, I don’t see that capability coming online fast enough, so we will probably have to build a fab.”
Initially planned for a January or February release, v14.3 aims to add some reasoning and logic to the decisions that Full Self-Driving makes, which could improve a lot of things, including Navigation, which is a major complaint of many owners currently.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 is a considerable improvement from early versions of the suite, but we have written about the somewhat confusing updates that have come with recent versions.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.2.5 might be the most confusing release ever
They’ve been incredibly difficult to gauge in terms of progress because some things have gotten better, but there seems to be some real regression on a handful of things, especially with confidence and assertiveness.
Musk confirmed today on X that Tesla is already testing v14.3 internally right now. It will hit a wide release “in a few weeks,” so we should probably expect it by late April.
It’s in testing right now. Wide release in a few weeks.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2026
Overall, there are high hopes that v14.3 could be a true game changer for Tesla Full Self-Driving, as many believe it could be the version that Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, some of which are driverless and unsupervised, are running.
It could also include some major additions, including “Banish,” also referred to as “Reverse Summon,” which would go find a parking spot after dropping occupants off at their destination.
What Tesla will roll out, and when exactly it arrives, all remain to be seen, but fans have been ready for a new version as v14.2.2.5 has definitely run its course. We have had a lot of readers tell us their biggest request is to fix Navigation errors, which seem to be one of the most universal complaints among daily FSD users.
Cybertruck
Chattanooga Charge: Tesla and EV fans ready for the Southeast’s wildest Tesla party
From Cybertruck Convoys to Kid-Friendly Fun Zones: The Chattanooga Charge Has Something for Everyone
Hundreds of like-minded Tesla and EV enthusiasts are descending on Chattanooga Charge this weekend for the largest Tesla meet in the Southeast. Taking place on March 20–22, 2026 at the stunning Tennessee Riverpark.
If you were there last year, you’ll know that it’s the ultimate experience to see the wildest Teslas in action, see the best in EV tech, and arguably the most fun – finally put a name to the face and connect with those social media buddies IRL! Oh, and that epic night time Tesla light show is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will transform the Riverpark into something out of a sci-fi film that’s remarkably unforgettable and must be seen in person.
This year’s event takes everything up a notch, with over 100 Cybertrucks expected to be on display, many sporting jaw-dropping modifications and custom wraps that push the boundaries of what these stainless steel beasts can look like.
Whether you’re a diehard Tesla fan, EV supporter, or just EV-mod-curious, the sheer spectacle is worth the drive.
The Chattanooga Charge doesn’t wait until Saturday morning to get started. The weekend technically kicks off Friday, March 20th, and the venue sets the tone immediately. Come share roadtrip stories over drinks at the W-XYZ Rooftop Bar on the top floor of the Aloft Chattanooga Hamilton Place Hotel, with sunset views over the city.
Come morning, nurse your hangover with a some good coffee, and convoy with hundreds of other Tesla and EV drivers through Chattanooga to the event for some morning meet and greets before the speaker panel starts and the food trucks fire up.
Tesla owner clubs travel from across the country to be here, not just to show off their vehicles,, but to connect, share, and celebrate a shared passion for the future of driving.
Sounds like a plan to me. See you there, guys. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets at ChattanoogaCharge.com and join the charge. 🔋⚡
Chattanooga Charge is a premier Tesla and EV gathering inspired by the X Takeover, known as one of the largest Tesla event gatherings. What began as a bold idea from the team at DIY Wraps/TESBROS, hosted in their hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the event quickly became a movement across social media. The first annual Chattanooga Charge united over 16 Tesla clubs from 16 states, proof that the EV community was hungry for something big in the South. Year after year, the event has grown in scale, ambition, and heart.
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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets latest bit of scrutiny from NHTSA
The analysis impacts roughly 3.2 million vehicles across the company’s entire lineup, and aims to identify how the suite’s degradation detection systems work and how effective they are when the cars encounter difficult visibility conditions.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has elevated its probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite to an Engineering Analysis.
The analysis impacts roughly 3.2 million vehicles across the company’s entire lineup, and aims to identify how the suite’s degradation detection systems work and how effective they are when the cars encounter difficult visibility conditions.
The step up into an Engineering Analysis is often required before the NHTSA will tell an automaker to issue a recall. However, this is not a guarantee that a recall will be issued.
🚨 The NHTSA said it was upgrading a probe into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) platform to an “engineering analysis”
It will examine 3.2 million vehicles and aims to determine its effectiveness in evaluating degraded road conditions pic.twitter.com/2dkrv1mR8o
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 19, 2026
The NTHSA wants to examine Tesla FSD’s ability to assess road conditions that have reduced visibility, as well as detect degradation to alert the driver with sufficient time to respond.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will evaluate the performance of FSD in degraded roadway conditions and the updates or modifications Tesla makes to the degradation detection system, including the timing, purpose, and capabilities of the updates.
Tesla routinely ships software updates to improve the capabilities of the FSD suite, so it will be interesting to see if various versions of FSD are tested. Interestingly, you can find many examples from real-world users of FSD handling snow-covered roads, heavy rain, and single-lane backroads.
However, there are incidents that the NHTSA has used to determine the need for this probe, at least for now. The agency said:
“Available incident data raise concerns that Tesla’s degradation detection system, both as originally deployed and later updated, fails to detect and/or warn the driver appropriately under degraded visibility conditions such as glare and airborne obscurants. In the crashes that ODI has reviewed, the system did not detect common roadway conditions that impaired camera visibility and/or provide alerts when camera performance had deteriorated until immediately before the crash occurred.”
It continues to say in its report that a review of Tesla’s responses revealed additional crashes that occurred in similar environments showed FSD “did not detect a degraded state, and/or it did not present the driver with an alert with adequate time for the driver to react. In each of these crashes, FSD also lost track of or never detected a lead vehicle in its path.”
The next steps of the NHTSA Engineering Analysis require the agency to gather further information on Tesla’s attempts to upgrade the degradation detection system. It will also analyze six recent potentially related incidents.
The investigation is listed as EA26002.
Elon Musk reveals date of Tesla Full Self-Driving’s next massive release
Chattanooga Charge: Tesla and EV fans ready for the Southeast’s wildest Tesla party
