In protest against the expansion plans of the US company Tesla’s electric car factory, environmental activists from the “Turn off the tap to Tesla” alliance demonstrated in Grünheide, southeast of Berlin, on Sunday afternoon. The citizens’ initiative Grünheide, Robin Wood, Extinction Rebellion and Sand im Gear are members of the alliance. There was also a second rally in town by residents who see an opportunity in the Tesla settlement. “We welcome the presence and strive for close cooperation to achieve common goals. An attack on Tesla is an attack on us,” said the organizers. “The recent attacks represent a threat to our values and our cohesion and our community.”
On Tuesday, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to a freely accessible electricity pylon in a field, which is also responsible for supplying the car factory, causing extensive damage. The left-wing extremist “Vulkan Group” had declared that it was responsible for the attack.
Despite the attack, environmental activists have announced that they will not voluntarily leave the occupied forest next to the Tesla factory for the time being. A spokeswoman for the “Stop Tesla” initiative made it clear that the protest would last indefinitely. When asked whether they wanted to be cooperative in the event of an impending eviction, she said: “We will stay until we are sure that the forest and the water will no longer be sold to Tesla.” The police said on Sunday that they were keeping a close eye on gatherings in the forest. So far the police have allowed the camp until March 15th. After the attack on Tesla’s power supply, it was also said that tolerance would be reassessed.
Since last week, environmental activists in Grünheide have been protesting on tree houses against the planned expansion of the Tesla site and the deforestation next to the car factory. A spokesman for the Grünheide citizens’ initiative said an attack was not a means of political debate. There is a clear distancing on the part of the environmental alliance and also the forest occupiers.
The network operator Edis says it is making progress with repairs to the damaged electricity pylon. The company has not yet said when the power supply for Tesla and an Edeka logistics center will work again. Tesla expects production in Grünheide to remain interrupted until the end of next week.