A German far-left group has claimed responsibility for the “sabotage” of electrical infrastructure that forced US car maker Tesla to suspend production at its Berlin plant.
A group calling itself Vulkan Gruppe announced the sabotage today in a message published on the Indymedia portal, as quoted by Agence France Presse.
“With our sabotage, we set ourselves the task of achieving the maximum possible power outage at the Tesla Gigafactory,” Vulkan Gruppe said in a statement published on the platform used by the militants.
Police announced an investigation into suspected arson, with plant officials and local authorities also calling the act deliberate.
Tesla “devours land, resources, people and jobs and spits out six thousand SUVs.” [sigla em inglês para veículo utilitário desportivo]“‘killing machines’ and ‘monster trucks’ every week,” the group accused in a post published on Indymedia.
Activists accuse the plant of “contaminating groundwater and consuming huge amounts of drinking water.”
Earlier, North American electric vehicle maker Tesla said it was “forced to suspend production” at its European plant near Berlin due to arson.
“There was a power failure on the public grid early this morning, likely due to arson, which led to a production shutdown,” a Tesla spokeswoman told France Presse, adding that employees were forced to leave the plant and did not know when. production will resume.
Tesla’s only major plant in Europe, opening in 2022, produces the Model Y, the continent’s best-selling electric SUV, and employs 11,500 people.
The regional government spoke about the “arson” of a power pole not far from this place.
The construction of a Tesla power plant in a wooded area in the Brandenburg region has drawn opposition from environmental groups.
Concerns have been renewed over Tesla’s plans to expand the plant and double production capacity.
In a consultative vote, the majority of residents of the local municipality voted against the expansion of production.
This issue has been the subject of numerous public debates organized by representatives of Tesla and the municipality to explain the expected developments.