In a dramatic showdown on Friday, protesters and police clashed near Tesla's factory in Grünheide, Germany, leading the electric car giant to halt production and instruct employees to work from home. The protesters, part of an alliance of self-proclaimed anti-capitalist groups known as Disrupt, were rallying against CEO Elon Musk's plans to expand the factory, a move they argue would necessitate clearing local forest areas and potentially strain local water supplies.
Footage shared on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed activists marching towards the factory, located about 20 miles southeast of Berlin. Other videos depicted protesters clashing with police in a nearby forest and breaking through a police barrier en route to the Tesla site.
Disrupt has been vocal in its opposition to Tesla's expansion plans, arguing that the production of electric cars is "neither sustainable nor green." The group contends that the manufacturing process of electric vehicles contributes significantly to the global climate crisis due to the consumption of resources. "Every tree felled for Tesla is one too many, and every litre of water taken from the ground is wasted," the group stated on its website.
Tesla's senior manufacturing director at the Grünheide plant, André Thierig, confirmed the shutdown in a post on X earlier this week, citing a company email. "Without the explicit instruction and authority of your manager, access to the site or factory will not be possible," the email read.
Police confirmed that several protesters attempting to enter the facility were taken into custody. Despite the clashes, Musk assured on his X account that the protesters did not manage to breach the factory. He also questioned why the police were lenient with the left-wing protesters.
The Disrupt Tesla group had called for mass protests against the expansion to take place between 8 and 12 May. Ole Becker, a spokesman for Disrupt Tesla, told Reuters that the protesters aimed to highlight the "environmental destruction" in Grünheide. Some activists have even occupied part of the forest expected to be cleared for the expanded factory for months, building tree houses and erecting signs in opposition.
The Grünheide factory, also known as the Gigafactory, currently employs an estimated 12,000 people and produces around 500,000 cars a year. This is not the first time the factory has faced disruptions. In March, production was briefly halted following a power outage triggered by a suspected arson attack, for which the far-left activist group Volcano Group claimed responsibility.
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