Tesla’s Germany Operations Halted by Fire Incident, Elon Musk Condemns Activists as ‘Extremely dumb’

Elon Musk has denounced the suspected arson attack that has brought production at Tesla’s Berlin car factory to a standstill as “foolish.” A far-left activist group claims responsibility for the incident, citing the factory’s resource and labor consumption as their motive.

Tesla anticipates a delay in car production until at least the beginning of next week, with the outage incurring potential losses in the “high hundreds of millions of euros” range. The company aims to expand its German factory by twofold, a plan that has drawn opposition from some environmental groups.

In a post on a social media platform, Mr. Musk employed the German term “extrem dumm,” which translates to “extremely stupid,” to characterize the targeting of the factory. He expressed his belief that the perpetrators are either “the most ill-informed eco-terrorists on the planet” or “controlled by individuals who do not possess genuine environmental objectives.”

A group of activists identifying themselves as the Volcano Group have claimed responsibility for the sabotage that disrupted production, according to a letter they released online. An electrical pylon situated near the Tesla plant ignited, leading to power disruptions within the factory and surrounding townships.
Tesla reported that staff were sent home while emphasizing that the factory building remained “undamaged.”

The fire, although contained outside of the electric car manufacturer’s facility, did cause
damage to an electricity pylon and its high-voltage wires. In a letter claiming responsibility for the attack, the Volcano Group stated that their reason for sabotaging Tesla was the company’s excessive consumption of resources and labor.

“With our sabotage, we have set ourselves the goal of achieving the biggest possible
blackout of the Gigafactory,” the group said in a statement.

The group further accused Tesla of causing groundwater contamination and utilizing large quantities of drinking water.

Authorities from the state police informed the American media that they are currently investigating the letter. In response to the attack, which occurred on Tuesday morning, Michael Stuebgen, the Interior Minister for Brandenburg state, asserted, “The legal system will respond to such acts of sabotage with the utmost seriousness.”

Certain environmental groups express disapproval towards the Berlin expansion plan due to concerns about deforestation in the nearby area. Roughly 100 individuals are currently residing in a makeshift camp within the forest near the factory. However, these environmental activists have explicitly denied involvement in the recent incident.

A group identifying themselves as Robin Wood has explicitly denied any connection to the fire, stating to the media they had “no role” in the event. The Tesla factory currently produces approximately 500,000 vehicles annually, with the intention of doubling that output as envisioned by the company’s owner, Elon Musk.

As per plant manager Andre Thierig, production is not anticipated to resume until sometime next week. The outage is estimated to incur significant financial losses, potentially reaching “hundreds of millions of euros,” stemming from damage to both power lines supplying the facility.

Elon Musk has denounced the suspected arson attack that has brought production at Tesla’s Berlin car factory to a standstill as “foolish.” A far-left activist group claims responsibility for the incident, citing the factory’s resource and labor consumption as their motive.

Tesla anticipates a delay in car production until at least the beginning of next week, with the outage incurring potential losses in the “high hundreds of millions of euros” range. The company aims to expand its German factory by twofold, a plan that has drawn opposition from some environmental groups.

In a post on a social media platform, Mr. Musk employed the German term “extrem dumm,” which translates to “extremely stupid,” to characterize the targeting of the factory. He expressed his belief that the perpetrators are either “the most ill-informed eco-terrorists on the planet” or “controlled by individuals who do not possess genuine environmental objectives.”

A group of activists identifying themselves as the Volcano Group have claimed responsibility for the sabotage that disrupted production, according to a letter they released online.

An electrical pylon situated near the Tesla plant ignited, leading to power disruptions within the factory and surrounding townships. Tesla reported that staff were sent home while emphasizing that the factory building remained “undamaged.”

The fire, although contained outside of the electric car manufacturer’s facility, did cause damage to an electricity pylon and its high-voltage wires. In a letter claiming responsibility for the attack, the Volcano Group stated that their reason for sabotaging Tesla was the company’s excessive consumption of resources and labor.

“With our sabotage, we have set ourselves the goal of achieving the biggest possible blackout of the Gigafactory,” the group said in a statement.

The group further accused Tesla of causing groundwater contamination and utilizing large quantities of drinking water.

Authorities from the state police informed the American media that they are currently investigating the letter. In response to the attack, which occurred on Tuesday morning, Michael Stuebgen, the Interior Minister for Brandenburg state, asserted, “The legal system will respond to such acts of sabotage with the utmost seriousness.”

Certain environmental groups express disapproval towards the Berlin expansion plan due to concerns about deforestation in the nearby area. Roughly 100 individuals are currently residing in a makeshift camp within the forest near the factory. However, these environmental activists have explicitly denied involvement in the recent incident.

A group identifying themselves as Robin Wood has explicitly denied any connection to the fire, stating to the media they had “no role” in the event. The Tesla factory currently produces approximately 500,000 vehicles annually, with the intention of doubling that output as envisioned by the company’s owner, Elon Musk.

As per plant manager Andre Thierig, production is not anticipated to resume until sometime next week. The outage is estimated to incur significant financial losses, potentially reaching “hundreds of millions of euros,” stemming from damage to both power lines supplying the facility.