Harald Schlarb

Germany has world-class engineers. What it lacks is speed. 🇩🇪 | Helping companies move faster | Automotive Consulting | Europe · China · Brazil | HSIU Berlin

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

The best engineers I've worked with never cared much about job titles. They wanted a problem worth solving. Projects like this are exactly that, and they pull in talent from everywhere. I saw it at Tesla: give a team a bold goal and a fast pace, and they'll surprise you. I'd love to see Europe start projects at this scale too. That's how we keep our best people.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

@teslaeurope Perfect !

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

@JoeTegtmeyer @robotaxi Amazing Job Team and thanks Joe for your great insights every day .

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Heading to Shanghai and Suzhou in a few days for the 18th International Entrepreneur Week at Suzhou Industrial Park.
Three continents of plant builds and production ramp-ups behind me. Still, the speed China builds industrial infrastructure at gets me every time.
Curious what I find this time.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

@Tesla FSD works. The technology is there.
In Germany, the regulatory process to approve it took longer than it took Tesla to build an entire factory in Grünheide.
That's not a technology problem. That's a bureaucracy problem.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Happy Birthday Elon Musk.
Love him or not — he changed what the industry thought was physically possible.
Gigafactory Berlin. 22 months. Greenfield to production.
I was there. Most people still don't believe me when I say it out loud.
The automotive world is still catching up.
#Tesla #Gigafactory #Automotive #Manufacturing

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Tomorrow: Darmstadt. @AutodeskAIF 2026.
Tuesday I'm on stage — "The Cost of Late Decisions" with @RogerAtkins moderating.
40 years in automotive. Late decisions are never free.
#AIF2026 #Tesla #MercedesBenz

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Zölle sind ein Schmerzmittel, keine Heilung.
Europas echtes Problem sind nicht die chinesischen Exporte — es sind 30 Jahre Outsourcing von Know-how, das wir nie zurückbekommen.
Ich habe gesehen wie vertikale Integration aussieht. Die Gigafactory Berlin hat nicht über den Preis gewonnen. Sie hat über Geschwindigkeit und Kontrolle gewonnen.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

@handelsblatt BYD trucks in Europe. Same playbook as with passenger cars — and European OEMs are reacting the same way: too slow.
I've watched this from both sides. The ones who survive won't be the ones with the best engineering. They'll be the ones who decide fastest.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Same in Germany. I've hired engineers from top universities who couldn't read a wiring diagram on day one.
What worked at Gigafactory Berlin? We hired people who had built things. Not perfect CVs — real hands-on experience.
A degree is a starting point. Not a proof of competence. 👊

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

Built the Gigafactory Berlin in 22 months.
Permit questions answered same day. Insurance sorted. Approvals under §8a — done.
Not magic. Just clarity and speed.
That's what's missing in German auto right now. 👊
🎙️ https://t.co/7NeDVX7zi4

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

I've negotiated in Shanghai, managed teams in São Paulo, and advised boards in Germany.
The one skill nobody teaches you?
Reading the room — across cultures.
It's not in any MBA program. You learn it by doing.
What's the most important cross-cultural lesson you've had to learn the hard way? 👇
#Leadership #CrossCultural #Automotive #Germany

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

https://t.co/RyA1WZ2wmB

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

34 years. Mercedes-Benz. China. 3 continents. The companies that will survive this transition aren't the ones with the best engineers. They're the ones willing to change how decisions are made. That's rarer than you think.

[Harald Schlarb @Hschlar]

he European auto industry spent 30 years perfecting combustion.
Now it needs to become a software company.
Most OEMs are trying to do both simultaneously — and failing at both.
I've seen this from the inside. The problem isn't technology.
It's organizational DNA.

[Mario Lochner @mario_lochner]

Wer sind eigentlich die 15%, die zufrieden sind mit der Bundesregierung? Oder ist das ein Aprilscherz?

[TESLA CARS ONLY⚡️ @teslacarsonly]

BREAKING: 2026 Tesla Model 2 $16,990 FINALLY Opens Pre-Orders — It’s a fully re-engineered compact EV with sleek design, long range, shocking price, and game-changer for the EV market.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

🥧

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

March of the 10 thousand

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Welcome!

Orbital space centers and mass drivers on the Moon will be incredible.