Tesla's factory outside Berlin, Germany, will likely be closed for days, costing the automaker more than 100 million dollars, later an alleged arson attack in the local electrical network.
The fire did not spread to the Tesla factory and no one was injured, although employees were evacuated. As a result, thousands of area residents were also briefly left without power.
An alleged activist organization calling itself “Grupo Volcán” took credit for the fire in a published letter Tuesday online. Authorities have not confirmed their participation, according to Reuters. The same group took credit for a similar fire near the site in 2021.
The group said it sabotaged Tesla because the company “devours land, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killer machines and monster trucks per week.” Our gift for March 8 is to close Tesla.” Because the total destruction of the Gigafactory and with it the elimination of “technofascists” like Elon Musk are a step on the path towards liberation from patriarchy.”
CEO Elon Musk wrote (in German) in a mail on his social media platform, X, that the arsonists were “extremely stupid.”
The factory, Tesla's only one in Europe, has had a controversial first few years. Ahead of its opening in 2021, construction lagging while locals haggled with Tesla over environmental concerns. Last month, Tesla's plan to expand the factory was also voted against by the public. But it is crucial for Tesla's operations on the continent, as It now manufactures around 6,000 electric vehicles per week.
