This week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to Germany to see the Giga Berlin production facility. On his visit to Europe, Musk has more on his agenda including a visit to CureVac to talk about COVID-19 vaccines.
On August 30th, Musk announced on Twitter that he will go to Germany to see Giga Berlin. But he will also collaborate with biopharmaceutical company CureVac on a possible Ribonucleic acid (RNA) plant. CureVac has its headquarters in Tübingen, a city in South West Germany.
In July 2020, Tesla and CureVac agreed on a collaboration that would allow the two companies to build portable molecular RNA printers that could help generate doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Musk referred to the relationship as a “side project,” and said if Tesla could cooperate with other firms, the “RNA microfactories” could become more common.
In the past, CureVac has spoken about portable “printers” for mRNA-based vaccines and received a $34 million grant from the Alliance for Advances in Emergency Preparedness (CEPI) in February 2019. The grant was to be used to create vaccine candidates for Lassa fever, yellow fever and rabies, Fiercepharma announced.
Musk has lent a helpful hand during the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways. Not only did the CEO donate hundreds of ventilators to hospitals needing the equipment, but Tesla also began designing their own breathing machines using parts from their cars.
The ventilator has yet to be released due to strict regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which must authorize each system separately.
The delays in getting approved for the Tesla ventilators have not prevented Musk from thinking about how to fight the virus. According to Worldometers.info COVID-19 has killed more than 848,000 people. While Musk is checking on the progress of the Giga Berlin production plant in Northeast Germany, he will also work toward finding solutions to the virus.
Tesla’s manufacturing plant is currently being constructed in Germany and is scheduled to start producing vehicles for the company in July 2021. The contracted construction crews at Tesla have used prefabricated methods to improve the project’s performance, which has increased rapidly over the past few months. Although some of the core buildings of the factory, such as the Drive Unit framework and Body in White buildings, are being rapidly erected, other parts of the Giga Berlin plant are also coming together.
For several years, Tesla has proved itself to be more than just a car company. Even though many people call the Silicon Valley-based tech giant a “carmaker,” Tesla has proven much more than that. Although the cars are the most well-known product, Tesla’s Solar Panels and energy products are also popular. However, the business has become more than a sustainable energy choice for consumers. With Musk traveling to Germany to speak with CureVac about a potential RNA printer, Tesla is working toward becoming a humanitarian company as much as anything else.
Reported by Teslarati.
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