Tesla will hand the first Model Y cars made at its €5 billion ($5.5bn) Gruenheide plant to clients on Tuesday, launching its first European production plant with the biggest investment in a German car factory in years.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend the ceremony alongside Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, marking a moment Mr Musk had hoped would happen eight months ago but local authorities say has come comparatively quickly for a project of its size.
The opening comes as Mr Musk has flagged Master Plan Part 3 for Tesla, which, he said, will map out scaling Tesla to "extreme size".
With plans to hire 12,000 workers, the German gigafactory and adjacent battery plant will become the biggest employer in the German state of Brandenburg, where it is based.
At full capacity, it will produce 500,000 cars annually — more than the 450,000 battery-electric vehicles that main rival Volkswagen sold globally in 2021 — and generate 50 gigawatt hours of battery power, surpassing all other plants in the country.
For now, Volkswagen holds the upper hand in Europe's EV market, with a 25 per cent market share compared with Tesla's 13 per cent. Mr Musk said boosting production would take longer than the two years it took to build the plant.
JPMorgan predicted Gruenheide would produce about 54,000 cars in 2022, increasing to 280,000 in 2023 and 500,000 by 2025.
Volkswagen, which has already received orders for 95,000 battery-electric vehicles in Europe this year, is planning a new €2bn EV plant alongside its Wolfsburg factory and six battery plants across Europe.
But its timeline lags behind Tesla's, with the EV factory opening in 2026 and the first battery plant in 2023.
Tesla received the final go-ahead from local authorities on March 4 to begin production, provided it met conditions on issues including water use and air pollution control.
The car maker came close to losing its water supply contract when local environmental groups filed a complaint against the Environmental Ministry challenging the licence it granted to Tesla's water supplier.
The court ultimately ruled that water extraction could go ahead, provided the ministry conducted a new public consultation.
The environmental groups may appeal the decision. Even if they do not, citizen initiatives have said they stand ready to oppose Tesla's planned expansion, citing everything from light pollution to water concerns.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
More coverage from the Future Forum
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
More on Quran memorisation:
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
More on Quran memorisation:
