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TESLA has created an electric battery-powered train that can hold 500 people and is free to ride.
The Giga Train has made its debut in Germany and will passengers from Erkner Station to Tesla Sud, the station located at the company’s manufacturing facility, about 20 miles southeast of Berlin.
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The train can currently hold 500 people with 120 seats, places for bikes, ground-level access, and an information center, per Teslarati.
It is expected to take 4,500 employees back and forth from the Tesla factory based on three eight-hour shifts.
Another stop will be added to the train once construction is finished.
An exciting feature of the train is its free tickets.
It’s not only free for Telsa employees, but regular travelers as well.
BATTERY POWERED
The Giga Train is entirely powered by electric batteries.
“We are particularly pleased that the Tesla train shuttle is now battery-electric because it is simply in line with our company mission: to accelerate the transition to renewable energies,” Theresa Eggler, a project manager at Tesla, told German outlet rbb24.
Niederbarnimer Eisenbahngesellschaft, a private railway company in Berlin that operates the Gigia Train, said it hopes to switch to electric trains at the end of the year.
“We will put 31 battery-electric multiple units and seven hydrogen multiple units into operation, gradually replacing the diesel fleet we currently use,” said Sebastian Achtermann, the managing director, per Teslarati.
It is expected to save 50 tons of carbon dioxide pollution compared to other trains, Eggler told rbb24.
The train’s start date was pushed twice.
It was initially set to launch in April but just started transporting passengers on September 4.
Telsa however said it was supposed to start running on September 2 but construction pushed the date.
Once construction is finished, the plan is to add a stop from Berlin to Lichtenberg.
Electric vehicles vs gas
Pros and cons of EVs vs gasoline-powered vehicles
EV PROS:
- Convenient (when charging at home)
- Cheaper (depending on state or city)
- Cheaper maintenance, due to lack of mechanical parts
- Great for commuting
- Reduced CO2 emissions
- Federal and state tax incentives
- More performance (speed, handling – depending on the make and model)
EV CONS:
- Higher initial cost
- Higher insurance rates
- More frequent tire and brake replacement intervals
- Higher curb weight (thus causing more rapid wear on crucial parts)
- Low resale value
- High depreciation rates
- Lack of charging infrastructure
- Unreliable public charging (related: slow charging times)
- Poor winter and summer performance
- Lack of clean energy alternatives means more “dirty energy” from coal and nuclear sources
- Range anxiety
GAS PROS:
- Highly developed refueling infrastructure
- Fast refueling
- Cheaper insurance rates, depending on make, model, and configuration
- Established repair industry
- Lower initial cost
- Higher range before refueling, especially with hybrids
- Many manufacturers produce nearly emission-less engines
- Cheaper refueling, depending on the location
GAS CONS:
- Finite resource (related: heavy dependence on petroleum)
- Carbon emissions/greenhouse gases
- Higher repair costs
- Higher insurance rates, depending on make, model, and configuration
- Varying costs at the pump, depending on state, city, and county
Source: Car & Driver, Perch Energy, AutoWeek
BACKLASH
While building the Gigafactory in Berlin, Tesla removed about 500,000 trees, per The Guardian.
The decision has caused protests and debate over the project.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s owner, has also slammed police for “letting off” “leftwing protesters” who stormed the building, per a post on X.
An environmental intelligence company named Kayrros shed further light on the situation.
“The Tesla factory in Germany has led to quite a bit of cutting down of trees. Of course, it has to be put in perspective, against the benefit of replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric vehicles,” said Antoine Halff, the chief analyst at Kayrros, per The Guardian.
The amount of trees cut down was about 13,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide which is the annual amount emitted by 2,800 average internal combustion engine cars in the United States, per The Guardian.
“So that’s a fraction of the number of the electric cars that Tesla produces and sells every quarter,” Halff said.
“You always have trade-offs, so you need to be aware of what the terms of the trade-off are.”
In response to the tree backlash, Tesla started a program that planted over 1 million trees in 2024, per Yahoo Tech.
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