Elon Musk was cheered as he oversaw the handover of Tesla’s first German-made cars at its Gruenheide plant on Tuesday.
The opening marked the start of the U.S. automaker’s inaugural European hub just two years after it was first announced.
Loud music played as 30 clients and their families got a first glimpse of their shining new vehicles through a glitzy, neon-lit Tesla branded tunnel, clapping and cheering as Tesla Chief Executive Musk danced and joked with fans.
“This is a great day for the factory,” Musk said, describing it as “another step in the direction of a sustainable future”.
Musk said that Tesla is likely to launch a test version of its new “Full Self-Driving” software in Europe, possibly next year depending on regulatory approval.
“It’s quite difficult to do full self-driving in Europe,” he told factory workers on Tuesday, saying much work needs to be done to handle tricky driving situations in Europe where roads vary a lot by country.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also attended the event, lauded the gigafactory as the future of the car industry.
However the factory has faced opposition.
Some environmental activists blocked the factory’s entrance on Tuesday while displaying banners flagging its high water use.
Two protestors abseiled from a motorway sign near the factory, blocking traffic for hours after the event.
Musk had hoped to begin output from the factory eight months ago, but licensing delays and local concerns around the plant’s environmental impact held up the process.
