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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called the alleged arson attack on Tesla’s Gigafactory near Berlin “extremely stupid” after far-left activists claimed responsibility.
German authorities said Tuesday that firefighters were called in after an electricity transmission tower near the facility was set on fire, causing a power outage and forcing production to halt. The head of Musk’s first Tesla factory in Europe told Reuters he expected power outages for several days and confirmed the factory had been evacuated.
A purported far-left activist organization called the Volcano Group claimed responsibility for the incident in a 2,500-word letter attacking Tesla and Musk that was distributed to local media. Police said they were aware of the letter signed “Agua de Pau”, the name of a volcano in the Azores, and were confirming its authenticity.
| ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | Tesla Inc. | 188.14 | -14.50 | -7.16% |
“They are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on the planet or puppets of people who have no proper environmental goals,” Musk wrote to X.
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Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg building in Grünheide, Germany, July 18, 2023. (Annegret Hills/File Photo/Reuters Photo)
“It would be extremely foolish to stop producing electric cars instead of fossil fuel cars,” he said, using the German word for “extremely stupid.”
Authorities have vowed that those who set fire to the tower will be punished. The damage caused temporary power outages in several surrounding communities.
| ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | Tesla Inc. | 188.14 | -14.50 | -7.16% |
“If the initial findings are confirmed, this will be a despicable attack on our electricity infrastructure,” Michael Stupgen, the interior minister of the home state of Brandenburg, said, according to Reuters.
“It will have consequences. Thousands of people here are cut off from basic services and put at risk,” he said, adding that the state would respond with “the utmost rigor.” . But Stupgen cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the possible culprit.
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Police work next to a damaged transmission tower after a suspected arsonist set it on fire at Tesla’s Gigafactory near Berlin, halting production and causing a power outage, March 5, 2024, in Germany. (Rishi Niesner/Reuters Photo)
The area surrounding Tesla’s Gigafactory has been the target of various environmental protests since Musk opened the facility two years ago.
“We sabotaged Tesla,” Agua de Pau’s letter said, according to Reuters. The letter said the attack was a gift for International Women’s Day on March 8th.
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On March 5, 2024, an electricity transmission tower was set on fire near Steinfurt, Germany. (Rishi Niesner/Reuters Photo)
“Tesla is consuming the planet, resources, people, and workers, and in return, it’s spitting out 6,000 SUVs, killer cars, and monster trucks every week.”
Tesla’s plans to expand its factory site, which manufactures about 500,000 electric cars a year, ran into opposition from local residents who rejected a motion to cut down trees to make way for construction, Reuters reported.
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Tesla aims to double the facility’s production capacity to 100 gigawatt hours of battery production and 1 million cars a year, which would put Musk in a position to dominate the European market.
Environmental activists are building treehouses and occupying forested areas around the factory that are expected to be cleared if the expansion is approved.
Reuters contributed to this report.
