The US electric car manufacturer Tesla is facing major challenges – and possibly important visitors – after the attack on the power supply to its car factory in Grünheide. According to a report from “Table Media”, Tesla boss Elon Musk announced himself at the factory near Berlin on Wednesday. The car manufacturer did not comment on this on Tuesday. The media service relies on corporate circles.
He also wrote that Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) may be expected to visit. Government spokesman Florian Engels also did not comment on this.
Since Monday, Tesla has been back online at the factory in Brandenburg after a day-long power outage. It could take time to ramp up production. “This is very difficult to predict,” the company said. Each control of a robot must be restarted individually. It was only in January that Tesla interrupted production for almost two weeks due to the uncertain situation on the Red Sea.
On Tuesday last week, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to a freely accessible electricity pylon in a field in eastern Brandenburg, which is part of the power supply for the car factory in Grünheide. The far-left Vulcan group said it was responsible for the attack. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office took over the investigation.
Tesla factory manager worries about employees
The Tesla factory boss is concerned about the safety of employees after the attack. “Of course there are concerns,” said plant manager Andre Thierig to “Wirtschaftswoche”. Some employees asked him “whether it was dangerous to wear Tesla clothing outside the factory.” The company therefore turned to the authorities for support.
Thierig reported that he informed Tesla boss Musk about the situation after the attack: “He was shocked like us, offered his support, couldn’t believe it.”
Thierig rejected allegations from environmentalists against the so-called Gigafactory. Tesla uses less than a third of the contractually permitted amount of water. “We are in discussions with the water association about a possible reduction in the amount of water that has been agreed so far,” the plant manager told the magazine.
Will the protest camp soon be evacuated?
Environmental activists are protesting against Tesla and electric mobility very close to the factory. The police are temporarily tolerating the camp with tree houses until Friday (March 15). With the occupation since the end of February, the “Stop Tesla” initiative wants to prevent the forest from being cleared as part of an expansion of the Tesla site. The initiative said it had nothing to do with the attack.
The activists are preparing for a possible evacuation of the forest, which belongs to the state of Brandenburg. SPD parliamentary group leader Daniel Keller called on Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) and Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) to clear the protest on Friday because it was private property.