- Tesla had to stop construction at its Berlin Gigafactory after failing to pay a 100 million euro security deposit in time, German outlet Der Tagesspiegel reported.
- The Brandenburg environmental authority required the deposit by Thursday as part of conditional work permits it issued to Tesla, the report said.
- According to the report, Tesla filed for an extension and now has until January 4 to make the payment.
- Tesla has run into lots of roadblocks and butted heads with German environmentalist groups since it announced plans to build a massive plant outside Berlin.
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Tesla has hit another snag as it races to finish construction on its Berlin Gigafactory.
Brandenburg’s state environmental authority ordered the company to stop clearing trees and outfitting its paint shop after the electric-vehicle manufacturer missed a deadline to make a 100 million euro security deposit, German outlet Der Tagesspiegel reported Friday.
Tesla had until Thursday to make or guarantee the roughly $122 million payment, which state regulators required as part of two conditional work permits provided to Tesla in late November and early December, according to the report. Seeing as it’s currently working without full approval, Tesla is constructing its factory at its own financial risk, Der Tagesspiegel said, and the 100 million euro sum guarantees funds for reversing Tesla’s progress if it the project isn’t approved.
The carmaker’s lawyers on Wednesday filed at the last minute to extend the deadline until January 15, claiming that Tesla wasn’t given enough time to coordinate the payment, according to the report. The environmental authority gave Tesla until January 4, 2021 to come up with the money — until then, the two permits are suspended.
Tesla did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Tesla has had to stop construction in Germany over a missed payment. In October, a local utility provider shut off water service to the worksite after Tesla reportedly didn’t pay an overdue bill.
The Gigafactory project has also met strong opposition from German environmentalist groups, who take issue with Tesla’s plans to clear 205 acres of pine trees. Earlier this month, Tesla was compelled to temporarily suspend forest clearing after two groups — the Green League and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union — complained that the EV maker was disrupting the habitats of hibernating lizards and snakes.
Tesla plans to start production at the factory in July 2021, and aims to ramp up production to 500,000 vehicles per year. CEO Elon Musk has said the company will make Model Y crossovers and its next-generation battery cells there.
