Photo: @gigafactory_4/Twitter
Tesla is ditching billions of euros in subsidies for battery production at Giga Berlin. It has always been Tesla's view that all subsidies for companies, including for oil and gas, should be eliminated, Elon Musk said.
Tesla will not take government funding for the construction of a battery factory in Grünheide, near Berlin. At the moment, we are talking about subsidies, which are equal to more than 1 billion euros. The corresponding decision was confirmed today to the news agency DPA by both Tesla and the Federal Ministry of Economics. It should be kept in mind that the forgone subsidies does not change the manufacturer's plans regarding the location of the battery factory.
Tesla was a candidate for a huge portion of European funding for the development of battery projects in Europe. The EU Commission is committed to ensuring that the European auto industry does not buy batteries in Asia in the future, but rather has its own production in order to guarantee a certain degree of independence. Because of this, any company that builds a battery manufacturing plant in EU can receive significant subsidies.
Tesla originally filed an application and the federal government has allocated more than one billion euros. Tesla did not explain the reasons for the refusal of funding, however the CEO of the company Elon Musk explained his position on Twitter. He wrote that such projects, including oil and gas, should not receive government funding at all.
It has always been Tesla’s view that all subsidies should be eliminated, but that must include the massive subsidies for oil & gas.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 26, 2021
For some reason, governments don’t want to do that …
One issue with such subsidies is when companies become dependent on them. Subsidies are always conditional and those who invest on their own end up with more leeway, which is very important. This is what could play a key role in the decision of Tesla, which in fact already has high enough revenue to independently finance its production.
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
