Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg has built its 750,000th vehicle, a milestone the company marked on May 12 with a ceremony at the Grünheide plant. The factory has produced only the Model Y since opening in March 2022, and the 750k figure represents every car that has rolled off its line in just over four years.
A Faster Second Half
The pace of production is what makes the milestone notable. Giga Berlin hit 500,000 cumulative units in April 2025; the next 250,000 came in roughly thirteen months, a meaningful acceleration over the ramp phase. André Thierig, Senior Director of Manufacturing at Giga Berlin, said the factory averaged just under 4,700 Model Ys per week during Q1 2026, the strongest quarter the plant has recorded.
| Milestone | Date | Cumulative units |
|---|---|---|
| Production start | March 2022 | 0 |
| 500,000th vehicle | April 2025 | 500,000 |
| 750,000th vehicle | May 2026 | 750,000 |
Q1 2026 output of about 61,000 vehicles works out to a quarterly run rate well below the plant's nominal 250,000-per-year design capacity, leaving meaningful headroom for the planned expansion.
What Tesla Plans Next
Thierig confirmed the factory is targeting roughly 73,000 Model Ys per quarter starting in July 2026, a 20% step up from the Q1 figure. To support that, Tesla will hire approximately 1,000 new staff beginning in May 2026 and convert around 500 temporary workers to permanent contracts. The hiring round is the largest at Grünheide since the original ramp, and reflects management confidence that European Model Y demand can absorb the additional output.
The production push lands alongside other recent milestones at the site. Giga Berlin built its one-millionth drive unit at the end of April 2026, and the company announced a separate investment to scale 4680 battery cell production on site — details covered in its own filing.
Why It Matters for European Owners
For European buyers, more Berlin-built Model Ys means shorter delivery windows and a steadier supply for the refreshed trims. Berlin is the only Tesla factory making Model Y for the European market — every Model Y registered in Germany, France, the Netherlands, the Nordics and most of Central Europe comes from Grünheide. A higher run rate also gives Tesla more flexibility to absorb tariff and policy shocks affecting Chinese imports, since the 18 GWh on-site cell expansion announced separately would let Berlin source cells locally from 2027 onwards.
For the German economy, the hiring round is the largest at Grünheide in two years and partly answers the regional government's pressure on Tesla to convert more temporary staff to permanent contracts. Brandenburg's state ministry of economy welcomed the announcement and pointed to the 500 conversions as the most significant element for local labour markets.
The Bigger Picture
750,000 vehicles in 50 months puts Grünheide on a similar cumulative pace to Giga Shanghai's first four years, though Shanghai now produces multiple models. With Model Y refresh deliveries continuing through 2026 and the 4680 cell ramp scheduled for 2027, Tesla appears to be positioning Berlin as its primary European manufacturing hub for the rest of the decade.