Tesla fined by German authorities... for a very German thing

The Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment claims that Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) built sewage tanks in their Gigafactory without permission. This illegal construction activity on the planned factory site in Brandenburg cost Tesla a fine. The electric car maker Tesla has built three chemical tanks without asking the Ministry of the Environment for permission. State inspectors then visited the construction site to investigate further illegal work on July 9th. Tesla originally announced that it would open the Gigafactory on July 1, but the opening has now been postponed until later this year. However, the Brandenburg Ministry has not yet issued approval for all of the construction plans submitted by Tesla. Therefore, this schedule could also be postponed. Tesla is building the Gigafactory for $ 5.8 billion. Last month, the construction team revised the plans and included a battery production facility, the largest in the world. Tesla announced this project in 2019, with the center in Grünheide, 30 KM from Berlin. Many environmental groups opposed this and protested to stop the factory project. In the meantime, the company has complained to the ministries to get all the necessary permits. Since the start of the project, there has been controversy that they use too much water (1.42 million cubic meters per year) and endanger wildlife conservation and cause deforestation. However, Tesla has plans to build a water recycling facility to get energy from renewable sources. Elon Musk visited the construction of the Gigafactory in May and expressed his impatience with the ministry, saying it could have been less complicated. In response to the complaint about water usage, he said they would not build a facility in a desert. In response, the Environment Ministry announced that they could face a severe drought in June. When the plant opens, it will provide nearly 12,000 jobs and produce 500,000 cars a year. But unfortunately, Berlin has been economically weak in the last few decades, so that politicians stand by Tesla to change that. The Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment is conducting a hearing with the citizens about the construction plans, and everything is in place. The Ministry has received almost 400 complaints about such a procedure.