Image: TeslaAs Plant Manager Andre Thierig announced on LinkedIn, the Gigafactory will increase production in two stages. In July, Tesla plans to raise weekly vehicle output from 5,000 to 6,200 units. As previously reported, the company has already created 1,000 new jobs to support the ramp-up.In October, Tesla plans to increase weekly production further to 7,500 vehicles. To support the ramp-up, the company intends to hire another 1,000 employees for production roles. Recruitment is expected to continue until July, with 700 of the positions already filled, a Tesla spokesperson told the news agency dpa. This would increase the number of employees in vehicle production at the Grünheide plant to around 12,700.Tesla has exclusively manufactured the Model Y at its only European vehicle plant since production began in Grünheide in March 2022. Based on registration figures, the Model Y has ranked among the world’s best-selling cars in recent years. Last year, however, Tesla recorded a sharp decline in sales, partly linked to CEO Elon Musk’s political support for US President Donald Trump. The downturn also affected the Grünheide plant, where the workforce temporarily fell by around 1,700 employees from its 2024 level of 12,400.Sales have since rebounded. In Germany alone, 5,111 Tesla vehicles were newly registered in May, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, representing an increase of 322% compared to the same month last year.Tesla’s plans to expand its workforce in Grünheide may also be linked to the victory of the employer-friendly Giga United list in the works council elections in March. Ahead of the vote, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a video interview with Plant Manager Andre Thierig that further expansion of the German plant would depend on the election outcome. Musk referred to “external organisations pushing Tesla in the wrong direction,” in an apparent reference to IG Metall.Following the works council election, Tesla also announced in May that it plans to hire more than 1,500 employees for a new battery cell production facility at the Grünheide site. According to Plant Manager Andre Thierig, the company will invest nearly 250 million US dollars to establish annual production capacity for 18 GWh of 4680-format battery cells.linkedin.com, cnbc.com