Construction at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has been reportedly halted again, but this time there are no snakes involved. The EV giant has been forced to stop progress due to an outstanding security deposit of 100 million euros over the potential demolition of the project.
This isn’t the first time and issue like this has rose for Tesla. Gigafactory Berlin’s water was shut off this past October after the automaker missed a payment. Shortly after progress was halted, Tesla signed a new contract with the water company and construction continued at full speed ahead.
After the dicey encounter with the water company, you would think the EV giant would have learned from its mistakes, however that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to reports coming out of Germany, Tesla has missed another payment which is affecting the project progress.
Since breaking ground at Gigafactory Berlin, Tesla has been operating with partial approvals to keep advancing the project as the automaker didn’t obtain overall approval.
In order for Tesla to continue working on the project, they were required to pay a 100 million euro security deposit to cover the cost of demolition in the event the project is not approved.
Germany’s Zeit reports (translated from German): “The background: Tesla is already allowed to build, although the final building permit has not yet been obtained. In the event that it is never granted, Tesla or another company will have to demolish what has already been built. The financial security deposit serves this purpose. The company has now been granted an extended period until January 4, 2021, to deposit them. Tesla did not want to comment on the decision of the State Office for the Environment when asked.”
Since the missed security deposit payment, which was due yesterday, the project’s progress has reportedly been stopped. According to the publication: “Accordingly, Tesla is not allowed to continue installing the machines in the paint shop and clearing the forest, as a decision from the State Environment Agency shows. Tesla would have had to provide a security deposit of 100 million euros by December 17.”