A group of far-left activists has claimed it was behind an
arson attack on a high-voltage electricity pylon Tuesday that cut off the power
supply to Tesla’s factory in Germany.
The activists, calling themselves the “Volcano Group,”
claimed responsibility for the fire in a letter published on the alternative
German media website Kontrapolis. Police in the German state of Brandenburg
told CNN they were aware of the letter and were checking its authenticity.
The group wrote that it had “sabotaged” Tesla (TSLA) because
its plant near the German capital Berlin “consumes Earth, resources, people,
labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killer cars and monster trucks per week.”
“The factory contaminates the groundwater and consumes huge
amounts of the already scarce drinking water resource for its products,” the
activists said in the letter.
German public broadcaster ZDF reported that the factory had been
evacuated and its workers sent home, adding that it was unclear when production
would restart. Tesla has not responded to a CNN request for comment.
Commenting on the letter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X:
“These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of
those who don’t have good environmental goals.
“Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than
fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm.”
The attack on the transmission tower also cut off power
supply to villages near the factory.
“Thousands of people have been cut off from their basic
supply and put in danger. The rule of law will react to such an act of sabotage
with the utmost severity,” Michael Stuebgen, the interior minister for
Brandenburg, said in a statement, adding that a criminal investigation had
begun.
“If the initial findings are confirmed, this is a perfidious
attack on our electricity infrastructure. This will have consequences,” he
said.
Tesla’s huge plant — located about 30 kilometers (18 miles)
southeast of the German capital — is its only one in Europe and is currently
capable of producing 375,000 electric cars a year.
Last year, the company lodged an application to ramp up the
factory’s production capacity to 1 million electric vehicles a year, which
would make it Europe’s biggest car plant.
But in February, local residents voted against a motion to
clear enough forest for Tesla to expand the site, leaving it to local
authorities to decide how to proceed, according to Reuters.
Since Thursday, around 80-100 environmental activists have
been occupying part of the forest near the plant, which Tesla wants to clear
for the expansion, ZDF reported Tuesday.
Robin Wood, one of the environmental groups taking part in
the occupation of the forest, said it had no information about the reasons for
the power outage. “We firmly reject any connection with Robin Wood’s
activities,” it added in a statement.
In another setback earlier this year, Tesla said it would
pause most production at the Berlin plant for two weeks because attacks on
container ships in the Red Sea had delayed the delivery of components.
Production was due to resume on February 12, according to CNN affiliate RTL.
