German Chancellor Scholz to attend launch of Tesla factory with Musk

Tesla is to launch its first production site in Europe next week, a so-called gigafactory outside Berlin, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz scheduled to attend the opening.
Scholz is to visit the Tesla site in Grünheide, in the state of Brandenburg which surrounds the capital, on Tuesday morning and give a speech, deputy government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said in Berlin.
However, she cautioned that the plan could change at the last minute given the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tesla chief executive and celebrity entrepreneur Elon Musk is also expected at the plant on Tuesday, where he is scheduled to ceremoniously hand over the first cars to customers.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Brandenburg state Premier Dietmar Woidke are also to attend the launch.
Musk originally planned for the first cars to roll off the assembly line last summer. However, the approval process was delayed, partly because Tesla added a battery factory to the building application.
On March 4, the state of Brandenburg approved the project. Tesla had already completed construction of the factory by that point at its own risk.