FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The planned opening of Tesla (NASDAQ:)’s first gigafactory in Europe later this year will force local industry to step up its game, Volkswagen (DE:) Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Friday.

Diess’ comments, made on Twitter (NYSE:) https://twitter.com/Herbert_Diess/status/1441392942787137539, come as Tesla continues work on its plant in Gruenheide, near Berlin, as it awaits final building approval for the 5.8 billion euro ($6.8 billion) site.

“Efficiency will be key to the transformation of Germany’s industry/Germany. Tesla works in shorter time frames, is closer to the top in the field, takes greater risks, Diess said. Diess was a well-known admirer of Elon Musk as an electric car pioneer.

Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen is Europe’s biggest carmaker and aims to surpass Tesla in the global market for electric vehicles by 2025. This claim is supported by an ambitious plan that will see six new large batteries factories built across Europe by 2030.

Gruenheide will enhance competition in Germany. This includes Wolfsburg.

On Oct. 9, the EV manufacturer will host a tour at Gruenheide, days before closing the last consultation on objections. Musk said that he plans to attend the event, dubbed “Giga-fest”, personally.

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