Construction of Tesla’s European factory seems to be proceeding at full speed, but not without some hiccups. The last one has been a problem with the water bill. A key element for the installation that seems to be causing more tension than expected has resulted in the cut off of supply due to non-payment.
According to the German portal Rbb24, after several warnings and a blocking threat that received no response from Tesla, the Strausberg-Erkner water company has taken drastic measures by cutting off the water from the Tesla facility Grünheide.
The company has indicated that there will be no favorable treatment for anyone and that after 15 days of unanswered calls, they have decided to cut the water. Something that has meant that the American manufacturer has had to stop its work for a few hours.
After this, Tesla has decided to move part by signing a new contract with the water company, thus clearing a significant obstacle to the factory’s approval. A deal that takes into account both water supply and wastewater.
A supply that yesterday afternoon had been recovered, allowing the North American manufacturer to continue with its construction work.
But while the agreement and disagreement are still a matter of company policy, what has allowed this new agreement is to reveal details that indicate that this new contract will mean a drastic reduction in estimated water consumption. Tesla has confirmed that of the 3.3 million liters a year that they expected to use at first, they will go to 1.4 million liters.
This will result from the changes that last summer Tesla has made in its project, and where it indicated the “elimination of the production of batteries from the A007 system.” So except for a new change of direction, Tesla will not manufacture batteries at the Berlin plant in this first phase.
If confirmed, something that would add more pressure to Tesla’s battery factories in Nevada and China, from where the cells used in the European one will possibly come.