Tesla Will Be Rolling Out Cars At Berlin Plant In Less Than A Year, Government Official Says

Tesla Inc. TSLA is tweaking its proposal for the Berlin manufacturing facility in a way that will both please environmental activists and keep the production on time, a local government official said, as reported by Bloomberg on Thursday.

What Happened

"We expect a proposal that in sum will be more environmentally acceptable and thereby even more approvable," Joerg Steinbach, the economy minister of Brandenburg, where the Tesla site is located, said in an interview, according to Bloomberg.

"I assume that within the first half of next year, cars will be rolling off the conveyor belt there."

Steinbach said Tesla would propose new plans later this week that will address some of the concerns raised by local activists like reducing the use of fresh water and creation of waste water, Bloomberg reported.

Why It Matters

Hundreds of protestors had taken to the streets in Berlin earlier this year, and a lawsuit was filed against the company for causing harm to the environment.

The automaker's Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk had countered the critics saying the net impact of the factory will be much greater than any environmental damage caused in the construction.

Musk has previously stated that Tesla is hoping to roll out Model Y cars made at the plant in July next year.

Tesla Price Action

Tesla shares closed 0.16% higher at $882.96 on Wednesday, and the shares inched further higher at $883.12 in the after-hours session.