Explainer: What's happening with Tesla's $7 billion German 'gigafactory'?

FILE PHOTO: The construction site of the future Tesla Gigafactory is seen in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany, September 19, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

GRUENHEIDE, Germany (Reuters) - Next Thursday, July 1, was supposed to be a day of celebration for Tesla: the opening of its self-styled "gigafactory" in the tranquil German municipality of Gruenheide, just outside Berlin.

But thanks to fierce environmental resistance, red tape and planning tweaks it is completely unclear when the first vehicles will roll off the production line of the electric carmaker's first European factory.