According to police, more than 1,000 environmental activists took part in a demonstration Tesla-Factory in Grünheide near Berlin protested against the car manufacturer. On Saturday they moved from Fangschleuse train station to the company boss’s only European car factory Elon Musk (52). Several organizations had called for this.
With the demonstration against Tesla they want to warn of dangers to the environment, but also criticize other car manufacturers. At the protest, some shouted: “Down with the shares, up with the water protection!” The mood was tense after clashes broke out between demonstrators and police on Friday.
“This system doesn’t care whether it’s Tesla, VW or Mercedes – car companies and their political supporters are responsible for selling off our livelihoods,” said Lucia Mende, spokeswoman for the Disrupt Tesla organization, before the demonstration. “We have to prevent that and we will prevent that.”
Alliances alarmed, Musk irritated
The citizens’ initiative Grünheide accused Tesla and the Brandenburg state government of not paying enough attention to the interests of the people in the region. “You go through with it, you don’t listen to the sensitivities of the local people,” said spokesman Steffen Schorcht. “It only serves the interests of Tesla.” He showed understanding for the protests. “When you fight and keep running into the wall and don’t know what else you can do, sometimes the only option is civil disobedience.”
The “Turn off the tap to Tesla” alliance sees dangers for the water. “Tesla’s luxury cars pollute and consume scarce drinking water worldwide,” said spokeswoman Karolina Drzewo. She criticized the fact that an expansion of the plant, including forest clearing, was still planned, even though the majority of citizens voted against it in a survey in Grünheide. The alliance calls for a move away from “inefficient and climate-damaging individual transport”.
Tesla boss Elon Musk was irritated. “Something very strange is happening as Tesla is the only car company to be attacked!” he wrote on the X platform.
Tesla has been producing electric cars in Grünheide since 2022. The company has always rejected accusations about water, saying that water consumption has decreased and is also below the industry average.
Use of pepper spray and batons
“We are sensitized,” said a police spokesman about the demonstration. The police advised people to avoid the area. The situation at night and in the morning was calm, said the spokesman.
On Friday There had been turmoil on the edge of the Tesla factory site. Several activists tried to enter the area, but the police stopped them. Protest participants and officials clashed. The police used pepper spray and batons. According to the police, several participants and 21 emergency services were injured and 16 people were initially taken into custody. Tesla did not produce on Friday – but according to a spokeswoman, that had to do with the bridge day after the Ascension Day holiday.
The car factory is the only one owned by company boss Elon Musk in Europe. The actions of several groups, which have been going on since Wednesday, are expected to continue until Sunday. They are also directed against the planned expansion of Tesla with a freight station, for which forests are to be cleared, as well as against the production of electric cars in general. In a citizen survey in Grünheide, a majority voted against the expansion, after which the community and Tesla signaled that less forest should be cleared.
The US automaker had to after an arson attack on a power pole in March production in its factory in Grünheide stop for a few days. A left-wing extremist group claimed responsibility for the crime. Since the end of February, climate activists have been protesting in a camp with tree houses very close to the car factory against the planned expansion and the clearing of forest. The police want to ensure that the tree houses are dismantled. A legal dispute is currently ongoing.