BERLIN—Tesla hopes to make the first cars at its “Gigafactory” in Gruenheide, near Berlin, in October or soon afterwards, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday. Tesla has pushed back the expected opening of the gigafactory to late 2021, blaming German bureaucratic hurdles. The plant has also faced local public resistance due to environmental concerns. “We’re looking forward to hopefully getting the approval to make the first cars maybe in October if we are fortunate,” Musk said on a visit to the plant with Armin Laschet, Germany’s conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor. Yet the environmental agency in Brandenburg has yet to give final approval, meaning a further delay cannot be ruled out, even until 2022. Tesla has faced resistance over the plant whose site partly overlaps a drinking water protection zone and borders a nature reserve. “This region has so much water, look around you,” Musk said …