German Tesla factory remains idle after suspected attack Tech war enters next round: OpenAI fires on Musk

The police are still investigating whether a left-wing extremist group is responsible. Unknown perpetrators set fire to an electricity pole in a field. There was a power outage at Tesla’s only European car factory and for tens of thousands of residents in the region.

According to Tesla, the consequences of the power outage are enormous: “We currently do not expect to be able to increase production again this week,” says factory manager André Thierig. “Almost all of the approximately 12,000 employees had to be sent home on Tuesday due to the production standstill.” Thierig spoke of damages “in the high nine-figure range.” On Tuesday, trucks lined up outside the factory.

Electric cars have been built in Grünheide for almost two years. The company wants to increase production in Grünheide from the planned 500,000 cars per year to one million. The factory manager said: “I cannot say at this stage whether this will have any consequences for the further expansion of the factory.”

The violent protest against Elon Musk’s American company shocked the Brandenburg state government. She spoke of a treacherous attack and warned of a form of terrorism. The ‘Vulkan group’, which is classified as left-wing extremist, previously wrote that it was responsible for the arson: “We sabotaged Tesla today.” In an email, Tesla accused Tesla of “extreme conditions of exploitation” and called for the “complete destruction of the Gigafactory.”

“This has nothing to do with protest. They are criminals,” said Michael Stübgen, Minister of the Interior of Brandenburg, on Tuesday evening in the RBB program “Brandenburg aktuell”. “These are criminals and we will hunt them down with all the resources our rule of law offers.” The “volcano group” is known to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. She was already suspected of having committed an arson on the power supply at Tesla’s construction site in 2021.

Tesla boss Musk reacted angrily and wrote on the portal

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also condemned the alleged arson. She said: “If a left-wing extremist motive is confirmed, it will be further evidence that the left-wing extremist scene does not shy away from attacks on critical energy infrastructure.” The potential threat posed by left-wing extremism is still great, Faeser also told the ‘Rheinische Post’. And the potential for violent, autonomous people has continued to grow recently.

After the alleged arson, the consequences for a protest camp set up by critics in a forest near the factory are also being investigated. “This could also mean the end of tolerance,” said Steinbach, Brandenburg’s economics minister. It was recently said that the treehouse camp set up last week would initially be tolerated until mid-March. The environmentalists rejected any link with the alleged attack. “We oppose the expansion of the factory with our bodies and tree houses. “We are not putting lives at risk,” according to the Stop Tesla initiative. (sda/dpa)