Arson at Tesla Factory in Germany... Suspected Act by Far-Left Groups

Suspected Attempt to Disrupt Factory Expansion Construction

An arson incident, suspected to be aimed at disrupting the expansion construction of Tesla's electric vehicle production plant, occurred in Germany.

On the 26th (local time), local media including Berliner Zeitung reported that a fire broke out between the night of the 24th and the early morning of the next day at a construction site in Marzahn, eastern Berlin, burning a construction crane and cables owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB).

The police suspect arson and stated they will investigate whether there is a political motive.

An anonymous post claiming responsibility for the arson was uploaded on the left-wing community Indymedia on the 25th. The author said, "Fifty hectares (500,000㎡) of forest near Gr?nheide, close to Berlin, are being cleared for the expansion of the Tesla Gigafactory. This is for a freight station to transport Tesla electric vehicles," targeting the railway construction leading to the Tesla plant.

Tesla is pushing forward with the expansion of its factory located in Gr?nheide, Brandenburg, on the outskirts of Berlin to increase production capacity. The railway public company DB is building a freight-only train station near the factory to transport Tesla vehicles.

However, environmental groups oppose the project, arguing that the Tesla factory is causing the disappearance of forests in the area and water shortages. In March last year, a fire suspected to be arson by an extreme left-wing group occurred at a nearby transmission tower, cutting off electricity supply to the Tesla factory for a week.

Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO and a close associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump, sparked controversy over political interference by actively supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the German federal election that ended on the 23rd. The author of the post claiming responsibility for the arson on the 24th also criticized, "Trump, Musk, and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel are a techno-fascist alliance."