Tesla Giga Berlin to pause vehicle production for five days this June

Recent reports suggest that Tesla Giga Berlin will implement a vehicle production pause for several days this June. The shutdown will reportedly be implemented to “optimize processes in the factory” and “prepare it for future challenges.” 

As noted in a report from Handelsblatt, Giga Berlin’s production shutdown would affect the facility’s vehicle and powertrain manufacturing sections. Citing communication reportedly from Tesla, the publication noted that the production shutdown would be on June 7, 14, 17, 27, and 28, 2024. Interestingly enough, the production shutdown will reportedly not affect Giga Berlin’s casting, plasma, and cell areas. 

While Tesla Germany has not issued a comment about its reported production shutdown this June, Handelsblatt’s mention of Giga Berlin’s cell facilities has incited some excitement from the electric vehicle community. If Giga Berlin’s cell lines will still be operating during the shutdown, after all, it would suggest that the facility has started battery production activities, at least to some degree. 

Giga Berlin has experienced a number of vehicle production pauses this year so far. In early March, Giga Berlin was forced to shut down Model Y production due to a suspected arson attack at a nearby power pylon. The attack stopped vehicle production for several days, and CEO Elon Musk has urged officials to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack are caught. 

At the start of May, Giga Berlin also stopped vehicle production for four days. Unlike the arson attack in March, the production shutdown in May was pre-planned. As per Tesla at the time, Giga Berlin’s production shutdown was being implemented to make way for optimizations in the facility. 

Considering that Giga Berlin is only producing the Tesla Model Y for now, some industry watchers are speculating that the optimizations being implemented to the facility may be part of the company’s efforts to prepare for an update to the all-electric crossover — perhaps even the highly-anticipated and much-rumored “Project Juniper” initiative. Previous reports have suggested that the Model Y’s “Project Juniper” upgrade is expected to be rolled out around late 2024. 

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