Musk buys in the Palatinate: Tesla is allowed to save German battery smiths

Tesla is the pioneer in electric cars, but it is also relying on German engineering for its expansion. The company is now buying the second company from Rhineland-Palatinate, saving a good 200 jobs.

After purchasing the Grohmann company in Prüm in the Eifel region in 2016, the electric car manufacturer Tesla took a stake in another Rhineland-Palatinate company. The Californian group got the green light to join the automotive supplier ATW based in Neuwied, as a spokesman for the Federal Cartel Office announced. "It's a merger." He didn't give any details. ATW and Tesla have not yet commented on this.

ATW (Assembly & Test Europe GmbH) belonged to the Canadian manufacturer ATS Automation Tooling Systems and is a specialist in batteries. The Canadian parent company recently announced the closure of its location in Rhineland-Palatinate. The dazzling tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is building a factory for electric cars in Grünheide near Berlin, is saving jobs at the auto supplier from Neuwied.

With a workforce of around 210 employees, he counts corporations such as BMW, Daimler and VW among his customers. The Neuwied city spokesman Erhard Jung expressly welcomed it "when another international company" settles in his municipality on the Rhine: "Tesla plays a leading role in electric mobility." The mayor of Neuwied, Jan Einig from the CDU, recently argued in a similar way, pointing out that Tesla Grohmann Automation GmbH in Prüm is only around 100 kilometers away – that could facilitate cooperation between the two locations.

At Grohmann, Tesla's entry also led to conflicts. Because Musk had requested that deliveries to competitors such as BMW, Daimler and General Motors be stopped immediately, the company's founder Klaus Grohmann left the company. The aforementioned customers also reacted angrily and demanded compliance with contracts. Tesla then promised to find solutions. On the other hand, Tesla increased wages to the tariff level and expanded the location, as the "Handelsblatt" reported – this is where the machines with which the cars are built are built.

Tesla wants to start production at the gates of Berlin as early as July 2021. Up to 500,000 electric cars are expected to roll off the assembly line there every year. There is talk of around 12,000 jobs. Until the time comes and the European market is supplied from there, e-cars will be shipped from Shanghai.

. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) Elon Musk (t) Tesla Motors (t) Rhineland-Palatinate (t) Electromobility (t) Electric cars