Gary Zhou 
The opposition against Gigafactory Berlin seems to be at a steady decline. As per a statement from Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) on Wednesday at the State Parliament’s Environment Committee, the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment (LfU) has received only 44 objections against the latest plans for Giga Berlin to date.
The 44 objections were raised against Giga Berlin as a response to the renewed public display of the facility’s plans. While 44 may sound substantial, this is already a massive decrease from the number of objections that Giga Berlin’s plans have received in the past. When the first iteration of Tesla’s plans was published last year, for example, a total of 373 objections were received.
The second iteration of Giga Berlin’s documents received 110 objections, a significant drop from the 373 that the company initially received. The 44 objections raised against Tesla’s latest plans could then be seen as a significant improvement in terms of public perception.
There is still more time to submit objections against Giga Berlin’s latest plans, however. As noted by the Environment Minister, the deadline for objections does not end until August 19, 2021. And in the past, some objections tend to get submitted in the last few days before the deadline. “Experience has shown that there are still some objections in the last few days before the end of the deadline,” Vogel said.
After August 19, the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment would decide if the project requires yet another public hearing. If another hearing is needed, the public session should take place around mid-September in the town hall of Erkner. Such a hearing would be quite interesting, as Tesla’s hearing at the Erkner town hall last year ended up involving some fiery discussions against the facility.
Gigafactory Berlin is already set to start operations, with videos of the facility showing that its Model Y production line is raring to go. Despite still lacking a final approval, Tesla remains quite optimistic about Giga Berlin. The company estimates that Model Y production could begin at the Grünheide site by the end of the year.
