Tesla has to make a lot of things happen in order to start the construction of Gigafactory 4 in Germany, and one of them is apparently getting rid of 25 unexploded World War II bombs.
Last year, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is going to build Gigafactory 4 in the “Berlin area.”
The project will be sited on a 300-hectare plot of land next to the GVZ Berlin-Ost Freienbrink industrial park, which Tesla is trying to buy for €40 million.
Musk said that Tesla will build “batteries, powertrains, and vehicles, starting with Model Y” at Gigafactory 4 in Germany.
Over the last two months, the plan for the new factory has been gradually revealed through new construction plans and environmental assessments.
In order to build, Tesla is going to have to cut down a large number of trees. The section that needs to be deforested is shown in red below:
The company is expected to start the process soon and will be finished by the end of February.
Even though Tesla committed to planting three times as many trees as it is going to cut down, it is a controversial process due to the complex nature of the ecosystem.
As we previously reported, one issue is that the forest is home to many animals, and one of them is an endangered species of bat that Tesla is going to have to move.
The deforestation effort has also led to protests at the site earlier this month.
In order to clear the site, Tesla also had to do a site search for unexploded World War II bombs and ammunition.
The German media is now reporting that 85 kilograms (187 pounds) of ammunition, including 25 unexploded bombs, has been found at the site (via ABC News):
Local newspaper Maerkische Oderzeitung quoted officials in Brandenburg on Wednesday as saying they estimate about 25 unexploded bombs could be found at the partially wooded site on the outskirts of Berlin, the German capital.
They are safely disposing of the duds in order to continue with the deforestation process.
Tesla’s goal is to start production at Gigafactory 4 in July 2021.
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