The Twitter account tracking Elon Musk’s private jet says the plane flew to Berlin today (March 21).
The automated account set up by teenager Jack Sweeney, a student at the University of Central Florida, threaded the reason for the 5,300-mile journey: “Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin opening ceremony is on Tuesday.”
Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory
The world’s richest man is flying to the German capital to inaugurate Tesla’s first manufacturing location in Europe. The company claims it’s the “most advanced, sustainable, and efficient facility yet.” The $5 billion Berlin gigafactory will produce hundreds of thousands of Model Y vehicles and millions of batteries, according to Tesla.
The company has four fully-operational facilities—three in the US, and one in China.
The Berlin plant was meant to be ready last year, but the opening was delayed after Tesla added a battery facility to its building plans. While Tesla finished the construction at the Gruenheide site at its own risk in the interim, the final permits came through in early March.
When the plant was greenlit, just 2,600 of the 12,000 vacancies were filled. There are still hundreds of jobs up for grabs.