According to police reports, there were occasional clashes between participants and emergency services during a demonstration to the Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin. The police said on Saturday that pyrotechnics were also ignited. However, the elevator ran largely without any major disruptions until the evening.
One person had been taken into custody by 7 p.m., it said. Four reports were filed, including for violations of the Assembly Act. A police spokesman said a police officer was slightly injured. He could not provide any information about possible injured protest participants. In the evening the situation was initially relaxed. But you are watching what is happening at the camps.
According to police, more than 1,000 environmental activists protested against Tesla with the demonstration. From around 2.30 p.m. on Saturday they moved from Fangschleuse train station towards company boss Elon Musk’s only European car factory.
There was previously a confrontation between individual protest participants and the police when around 500 activists marched towards the starting point of the demonstration, as the police announced. Emergency services accompanied this train. In the course of the confrontation, the officers used “simple physical violence”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) hopes to expand Tesla’s production. Brandenburg has a huge boom and great economic growth, said Scholz on Saturday during a panel discussion with the Editorial Network Germany (RND), also with a view to the Tesla factory. “It’s controversial, as we see, but I hope it will double its production even further.”
Several organizations had called for the protests. With the demonstration against Tesla they want to warn of dangers to the environment, but they 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 protesters 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 organization Disrupt Tesla, before the demonstration. “We have to prevent that and we will prevent that.”
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 Tesla’s interests.”
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The “Turn off the tap from Tesla” alliance sees threats to groundwater. “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. In a citizen survey in Grünheide, a majority voted against the expansion. The community and Tesla then signaled that less forest should be cleared.
Tesla boss Elon Musk was irritated by the protests. “Something very strange is happening because Tesla was the only car company to be attacked!” he wrote on the portal X.
Tesla has been producing electric cars in Grünheide since 2022. The company has always denied allegations of water pollution, saying water consumption has declined and is below the industry average. The car factory is the only one owned by company boss Elon Musk in Europe.
On Friday there was 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 actions of several groups, which have been going on since Wednesday, are expected to continue until Sunday.