News
Tesla uses far less water at Giga Berlin than it’s approved for: minister
Tesla has faced criticism over its water consumption at Gigafactory Berlin over the years. However, one local official now says the automaker used far less water in its first few years of production than it was approved for.
Brandenburg’s Minister of Agriculture Axel Vogel says that Tesla’s water consumption at Giga Berlin fell in its first full year of production and has remained steadily beneath the approved limit since, according to a report from German outlet BZ Berlin this week. The statements were made on Thursday during a session in the Potsdam state parliament.
According to Vogel, Tesla is approved for up to 1.8 million cubic meters of water consumption per year, though it only used 300,000 cubic meters in its first year of production. In addition, Vogel says that amount stayed the same after Tesla ramped up factory production, citing the time range between January and August this year.
In 2020, the Strausberg-Erkner Water Association (WSE) pumped as many as 10.8 million cubic meters of water total to roughly 170,000 customers south of Berlin, including factories like Tesla’s and a major cement plant, as well as schools, households and more. In 2022, however, the total amount of water pumped to the community was substantially reduced despite production ramping at Giga Berlin.
“In 2022, the amount of water withdrawn fell by 5.3 percent to 10.2 million cubic meters,” Vogel said.
The next time someone complains about the water needed to produce a Model Y at Giga Berlin (582 gallons), they better not be doing it while wearing a pair of these (1,800 gallons). pic.twitter.com/HLrcLbpzRM
— Gone Ballistic (@GoingBallistic5) March 12, 2023
The publication also pointed to other plants using a significant amount of water annually within the WSE’s regional distribution area, including the LEAG coal plant (44.8 million cubic meters), the Premnitz waste incineration plant (23 million cubic meters), an oil refinery in Schwedt (13.5 million cubic meters) and a Klaistow asparagus farm (1.09 million cubic meters) — all despite the plant providing around 11,000 jobs.
Tesla hopes to build around 250,000 of its Model Y SUV at Giga Berlin this year, and the minister says that the company is approved for production of up to 500,000 Model Y bodies. Earlier this year, Tesla said it hoped to someday produce a million cars per year at the plant, without increasing water consumption.
Along with criticism faced by environmental groups over the years, Tesla faced a lawsuit in Germany over water use that threatened to delay the start of production. Vogel has also publicly defended Tesla over water use criticisms in the past, urging regulators in 2022 to help the automaker proceed toward ramping up production.
Tesla sends out Giga Berlin invitations, Minister slams water association over consumption concerns
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Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
