Tesla’s Giga Berlin reportedly running at 40% capacity

Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory reportedly produced approximately 149,000 vehicles in 2025, indicating a utilisation rate of around 40% against the site’s rated annual capacity of 375,000 units. A Handelsblatt report, citing data from Inovev, claims that Tesla’s flagship plant is facing its lowest volumes following its 2022 launch, when it built 50,300 vehicles following a mid-year ramp. 

For each consecutive year of production, output appears to have fallen: from 211,235 in 2023 to 192,801 in 2024 and to the current figure. Handelsblatt also reported a profit margin of 0.74% for the facility. Plant Manager André Thierig disputed the figures on LinkedIn, claiming production actually exceeded 200,000 vehicles in 2025; he also attributed the decline in part, to a first-quarter pause for the Model Y Juniper launch. He did not provide an alternative margin figure. The Juniper, it should be noted, did not reverse the trend of sales decline seen throughout the continent that year. 

The reports of declining production have drawn strange bedfellows. IG Metall—which is the same union Thierig accused of coordinating with Handelsblatt against Tesla—independently corroborated the plant manager, telling the newspaper before publication that 149,000 units seemed on the low side and that output was likely above 200,000. Tesla did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment

The reports of declining production are playing out against a tense labour backdrop. Works council elections at Grünheide are scheduled for 2-4 March, with approximately 11,000 employees voting. IG Metall, which holds 16 of 39 current works council seats, is seeking a majority that would give it leverage to pursue a 35-hour working week. This is a standard at every other automotive plant in Germany save for Tesla’s. 

Negotiations at the plant have taken a bitter turn in recent weeks. The union has filed a defamation complaint against Thierig and applied for a labour court injunction against the automaker. The lawsuit was triggered by a police visit to the plant over allegations of a meeting being illegally recorded by a union representative. IG Metall has characterised the attitude of management as one of “unprecedented aggression” as discussions continue.

Thierig has made no secret of his or Tesla’s opposition to union demands. He has drawn a public red line against the shorter week, and received support from Chief Executive Elon Musk for his efforts. In a video message shared with employees, Musk warned employees that expansion plans would not proceed if the plant were not kept—as he put it—free from outside influence.

Of course, Musk’s and Thierig’s framing of IG Metall as a threat to expansion is difficult to sustain if the reports of capacity utilisation hovering around 40% are true. It might, then, be more credible to argue that there is no business case for expanding the plant, as Musk previously indicated he would like to do, if there is no local demand for the products being made. 

Tesla sold around 235,000 vehicles across Europe in 2025, a 28% decline year-on-year. German registrations fell 48% over the year; January 2026 brought declines of 59% in Germany, 81% in the Netherlands and 93% in Norway. Gains in Southeast Asian and MENA region markets added roughly 70,000 registrations but this was insufficient to offset the losses it racked up elsewhere.