Elon Musk Opens New Tesla Factory as the Company Struggles to Keep Up With DemandCovid-19 continues to pose production challenges for Tesla.

Some good news came today for those waiting onTeslato fulfill their Model Y and Model 3 orders:Elon Muskwill officially open his electric-vehicle maker's first factory in Europe on Tuesday, pera tweetfrom the CEO, lessening the burden on the company's existing facilities in the U.S. and China.

Muskwill do the honors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Giga Berlin (or Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg) facility in Grünheide, a coal town in Brandenburg, Germany,CNBCreports. Tesla expects the Berlin factory to make as many as 500,000 vehicles each year — a much-needed production increase as the company fights to keep up with demand across the globe.

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On March 4, German authorities gave conditional production approval after months of delays.

Excited to hand over the first production cars made by Giga Berlin-Brandenburg tomorrow!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)March 21, 2022

麝香已经盯上了柏林工厂多年来,significant step forward in Tesla's planned-for global expansion, which officially began with the opening of itsShanghai-based Gigafactory 3 facility in 2019. Since then, Musk has also opened a plant inAustin, Texas.

Covid-19continues to pose production challenges for Tesla. Just last week, an outbreak of cases in China resulted in atemporary shutdownof Tesla's Shanghai factory — affecting Model Y and Model 3 output for at least a couple of days. Recently, the company has been fulfilling European orders with cars made in China, so on-continent production will be extremely beneficial.

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As the Berlin factory considers ramping up production even further, however, itswater usage might be a problem. In a research note on Monday, Deutsche Bank autos sector analysts said it could impact the future of the plant, as "Sources indicated that the company may completely exhaust the water reserve in the region with the first stage of the plant build out, and will need additional extraction permits in order to expand its capacity any further in the future."

Tesla Inc was up 1.72% as of 10:18 a.m. EST.