Tesla expects to begin expansions on its Gigafactory in GrünheideGermany early next yearaccording to statements made by the company at a recent public forum about the plans.
According to a report from the German publication RBB 24 on Tuesdaya Tesla spokesperson said the company hopes to perform factory expansions to the Brandenburg location starting in the first half of 2024. The expansions will begin with construction to modernize the existing facility and build a water recycling plant before initiating plans to add a second production facility and a battery recycling plant in the following years.
The statements came during a discussion on Mondayin which residentsauthorities and company spokespeople gathered in Erkner to discuss the plans for expansions. The discussions officially ended on Tuesday with the agency rejecting objections to the project.
Many attendees criticized Tesla’s changes to application documentation as the process has gone along. Howeverthe State Office for the Environment (LfU) argued that the changes were legal and were only meant to add clarifications or corrections to the details.
The LfU received over 1,000 objections to Tesla’s Giga Berlin expansion plansprimarily concerning the environmental impact and water consumption of the projectsand the discussions included around 100 peopleaccording to RBB 24. The decision officially concludes discussions on water regarding Tesla’s expansion plansand they’ll now shift to talking about how much noise is generated at the site.
Last weekBrandenburg Minister Axel Vogel weighed in on the water consumption discussionspointing out that Giga Berlin uses significantly less water than the state has approved. Local companies using much more water include a coal planta waste facilityan oil refinery and a nearby asparagus farm.
Tesla submitted expansion plans to the government in Julyrevealing that it expects the second phase of construction to boost annual production capacity to one million vehicles per year. In addition to increasing vehicle productionthe automaker also hopes to reach 100 gigawatt hours of annual battery production at the plantwhich could become water-intensive.
In the pastTesla has also said it would be able to perform the upcoming expansions without increasing water supply. The news also comes after years of criticisms and legal issues lodged at the factory’s water consumption.
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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in FremontCaliforniaand he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago TribuneKRON4 San FranciscoFOX31 DenverInsideEVsCleanTechnicaand many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companiesyou can find him writing and performing musicdrinking a good cup of coffeeor hanging out with his catsBanks and Freddie. Reach out at [email protected]find him on X at @zacharyviscontior send us tips at [email protected].
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab
“And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface,” Musk said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped a massive bomb about the Cybercabwhich is the company’s fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicle that will enter production later this year.
The Cybercab was unveiled back in October 2024 at the company’s “WeRobot” event in Los Angelesand is among the major catalysts for the company’s growth in the coming years. It is expected to push Tesla into a major growth phaseespecially as the automaker is transitioning into more of an AI and Robotics company than anything else.
The Cybercab will enable completely autonomous ride-hailing for Teslaand although its other vehicles will also be capable of this technologythe Cybercab is slightly different. It will have no steering wheel or pedalsand will allow two occupants to travel from Point A to Point B with zero responsibilities within the car.
Tesla shares epic 2025 recap videoconfirms start of Cybercab production
Details on the Cybercab are pretty face value at this point: we know Tesla is enabling 1-2 passengers to ride in it at a timeand this strategy was based on statistics that show most ride-hailing trips have no more than two occupants. It will also have in-vehicle entertainment options accessible from the center touchscreen.
It will also have wireless charging capabilitieswhich were displayed at “WeRobot,” and there could be more features that will be highly beneficial to ridersoffering a full-fledged autonomous experience.
Musk dropped a big hint that there is much more to the Cybercab than what we knowas a post on X said that “there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface.”
And there is so much to this car that is not obvious on the surface
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22026
As the Cybercab is expected to enter production later this yearTesla is surely going to include a handful of things they have not yet revealed to the public.
Musk seems to be indicating that some of the features will make it even more groundbreakingand the idea is to enable a truly autonomous experience from start to finish for riders. Everything from climate control to emergency systemsand moreshould be included with the car.
It seems more likely than not that Tesla will make the Cybercab its smartest vehicle so faras if its current lineup is not already extremely intelligentuser-friendlyand intuitive.
Investor's Corner
Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst
The Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Longtime Tesla analyst and Deepwater Asset Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has shared his insights on Tesla’s Q4 2025 deliveries. As per the analystTesla’s numbers are actually better than they first appear.
Munster shared his thoughts in a post on his website.
Normalized December Deliveries
Munster noted that Tesla delivered 418k vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2025slightly below Street expectations of 420k but above the whisper number of 415k. Tesla’s reported 16% year-over-year declinecompared to +7% in Septemberis largely distorted by the timing of the tax credit expirationwhich pulled forward demand.
“Taking a step backwe believe September deliveries pulled forward approximately 55k units that would have otherwise occurred in December or March. For simplicitywe assume the entire pull-forward impacted the December quarter. Under this assumptionSeptember growth would have been down ~5% absent the 55k pull-forwarda Deepwater estimate tied to the credit’s expiration.
“For December deliveries to have declined ~5% year over year would imply total deliveries of roughly 470k. Subtracting the 55k units pulled into September results in an implied December delivery figure of approximately 415k. The reported 418k suggests thatwhen normalizing for the tax credit timingquarter-over-quarter growth has been consistently down ~5%. Importantlythis ~5% decline represents an improvement from the ~13% declines seen in both the March and June 2025 quarters.“
Tesla’s United States market share
Munster also estimated that Q4 as a whole might very well show a notable improvement in Tesla’s market share in the United States.
“Over the past couple of yearsbased on data from Cox AutomotiveTesla has been losing U.S. EV market sharedeclining to just under 50%. Based on data for October and NovemberCox estimates that total U.S. EV sales were down approximately 35%compared to Tesla’s just reported down 16% for the full quarter. For the first two months of the quarterCox reported Tesla market share of roughly a 65% shareup from under 50% in the September quarter.
“While this data excludes Decemberthe quarter as a whole is likely to show a material improvement in Tesla’s U.S. EV market share.“
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst breaks down delivery report: ‘A step in the right direction’
“This will be viewed as better than feared deliveries and a step in the right direction for the Tesla story heading into 2026,” Ives wrote.
Tesla analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush released a new note on Friday morning just after the company released production and delivery figures for Q4 and the full year of 2025stating that the numberswhile slightly underwhelmingare “better than feared” and as “a step in the right direction.”
Tesla reported production of 434,358 and deliveries of 418,227 for the fourth quarterwhile 1,654,667 vehicles were produced and 1,636,129 cars were delivered for the full year.
Tesla releases Q4 and FY 2025 vehicle delivery and production report
Interestinglythe company posted its own consensus figures that were compiled from various firms on its website a few days agowhere expectations were set at 1,640,752 cars for the year. Tesla fell about 4,000 units short of that. One of the areas where Tesla excelled was energy deploymentswhich totaled 46.7 GWh for the year.
🚨 Wedbush’s Dan Ives has released a new note on Tesla $TSLA:
“Tesla announced its FY4Q25 delivery numbers this morning coming in at 418.2k vehicles slightly below the company’s consensus delivery estimate of 422.9k but much better than the whisper numbers of ~410k as the…
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 22026
In terms of vehicle deliveriesIves writes that Tesla certainly has some things to work through if it wants to return to growth in that aspectespecially with the loss of the $7,500 tax credit in the U.S. and “continuous headwinds” for the company in Europe.
HoweverIves also believes thatgiven the delivery numberswhich were on par with expectationsTesla is positioned well for a strong 2026especially with its AI focusRobotaxi and Cybercab developmentand energy:
“This will be viewed as better than feared deliveries and a step in the right direction for the Tesla story heading into 2026. We look forward to hearing more at the company’s 4Q25 call on January 28th. AI Valuation – The Focus Throughout 2026. We believe Tesla could reach a $2 trillion market cap over the coming year andin a bull case scenario$3 trillion by the end of 2026…as full-scale volume production begins with the autonomous and robotics roadmap…The company has started to test the all-important Cybercab in Austin over the past few weekswhich is an incremental step towards launching in 2026 with important volume production of Cybercabs starting in April/Maywhich remains the golden goose in unlocking TSLA’s AI valuation.”
It’s no secret that for the past several yearsTesla’s vehicle delivery numbers have been the main focus of investors and analysts have looked at them as an indicator of company health to a certain extent. The problem with that narrative in 2025 and 2026 is that Tesla is now focusing more on the deployment of Full Self-Drivingits Optimus projectAI developmentand Cybercab.
While vehicle deliveries still hold importanceit is more crucial to note that Tesla’s overall environment as a business relies on much more than just how many cars are purchased. That metricto a certain extentis fading in importance in the grand scheme of thingsbut it will never totally disappear.
Ives and Wedbush maintained their $600 price target and an ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk drops massive bomb about Cybercab
Tesla Q4 delivery numbers are better than they initially look: analyst
