FRANKFURT -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with the leadership of Brandenburg, the German state where the EV maker's 5.8 billion euro ($6.9 billion) European gigafactory is being built.
During the meeting Musk made clear how important it is for the company to keep to its schedule for the construction of the factory, said Brandenburg's economy minister, Joerg Steinbach.
Musk also said Tesla would intensify communication and involve local citizens more, Steinbach told Reuters on Thursday after a meeting with Musk.
Tesla has faced delays during the construction of the new plant In the town of Gruenheide near Berlin due to resistance from opponents worried about the factory's impact on the environment.
It remains unclear when the first vehicles will roll off the production line. Tesla originally planned to start production of the Model Y in July but the automaker has already pushed back the expected opening to late 2021.
The environmental agency in Brandenburg has yet to give final approval for the factory, which will manufacture batteries as well as electric cars, meaning a further delay cannot be ruled out, even into 2022.
Musk's jet landed in Berlin on Wednesday afternoon, according to a Twitter account that tracks the movement of his plane.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union said earlier this week that Armin Laschet, the party’s chairman, will visit the Tesla factory site on Friday. CDU officials said they are not aware whether Musk will take part in Laschet's visit on Friday.
Germany's next chancellor will come under pressure to accelerate the pace of technological progress to ensure Europe’s biggest economy modernizes and remains competitive in the digital age.
Musk has regularly traveled to Germany to check on the plant's progress and during a visit in May criticized Germany's bureaucracy.
Bloomberg contributed to this report
