Berlin, November 5th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – Tesla has put a new European development center into operation in Berlin. According to the company, engineers and technicians will work there in laboratories on materials, drivetrain and vehicle development.
The American electric carmaker converted an old industrial site in the Köpenick district for the project. It lies not far from Tesla’s car plant in Grünheide. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner of the CDU was expected at the opening ceremony in the afternoon.
Partial Operation
The center is starting with limited operations. In the first phase, more than 250 employees will work there, Tesla said. They are coming from existing facilities in Tilburg in the Netherlands and from other laboratory locations. A large hall will also be used for safety tests on vehicle parts, including airbags, as well as for tests on battery cells.
The company has already applied for approval of a second phase. It would raise the headcount to roughly 500 engineers and technicians.
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Tesla put the total cost of the project at 100 million Euro. In a statement, the company said the new Engineering Center once again underlined its long-term commitment to Germany as a “strategic location for innovation”, as the company put it in German.
Plant to Grow
The Grünheide factory is the only car plant run by CEO Elon Musk in Europe. Tesla intends to expand it further in order to increase vehicle output. In mid-October, it was reported that the company wants to double production at the site from the 500,000 cars per year it has planned so far to one million. The 500,000 mark has not been reached yet.
Electric vehicles are becoming more popular in Germany. Higher fuel prices are seen as one reason.
