GRUENHEIDE, Germany, July 18 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) on Tuesday sought to assuage Brandenburg state residents' concerns by holding a question-and-answer session on the EV maker's planned expansion that would make its local plant the biggest car factory in the country.
Tesla, which currently produces around 5,000 cars a week, hopes to double the plant's production capacity to 1 million vehicles a year and add 50 gigawatt hours of battery production capacity, though it has not provided a timeline.
While Volkswagen still holds the highest EV market share in the region, Tesla is making its mark.
Tesla has long argued that the plant's impact is relatively low and referred to the benefits of EVs in combating climate change.
"Water isn't a Tesla problem - it's a general problem," said 68-year-old local resident Matthias Handschick.
Persons:
Tesla, Emily, Matthias Handschick, Victoria Waldersee, Nette Noestlinger, Leon Malherbe, Christoph Steitz, Louise Heavens, Matthew Lewis
Organizations:
EV, Volkswagen, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
GRUENHEIDE, Germany, Brandenburg, Wolfsburg, Europe, Gruenheide