Musk hands over first Teslas from German gigafactory
STORY: Elon Musk busted out his signature dance moves on Tuesday, as Tesla officially opened its gigafactory in Germany - the company's first manufacturing facility in Europe.
"I am incredibly excited to hand over the first production cars from our incredible team here at GigaBerlin Brandenburg... Tesla will make sure that this will be a gemstone for the area, for Germany, for Europe and for the world."
Musk toured the plant with Germany's chancellor, who hailed the gigafactory as the future of the car industry.
"This decision to build a car factory in this country was the right decision and sign of progress and the future of the auto industry."
But not everyone thought it was the right decision. Environmental activists blocked the factory's entrance and displayed banners highlighting its high water use.
Musk had hoped to open the factory eight months ago, but licensing delays and local concerns around the plant's environmental impact held up the process.
Tesla got the final go-ahead on March 4, providing the factory met conditions ranging from its water use to air pollution controls.
Tesla had been forced to fulfill European orders from Shanghai while it awaited the German license, adding to rising logistics spending at a time when it was struggling with industry-wide supply chain issues.
On Tuesday, shares of Tesla were up roughly 3% in midday trading
