In the Erkner town hall on Monday, the topics were water consumption, the use of tens of thousands of piles for a new plant and safety. The Brandenburg State Office for the Environment received 1,073 objections. Three years ago there were more than a hundred people discussing at a hearing. The debate at the meeting was still heated.
The topic that generates the most criticism is Water. Werner Klink, a critic from Storkow, accused Tesla of deficiencies in the reports on the question of the factory’s impact on groundwater. “That’s an imposition,” said Klink. The expert firm Fugro rejected this – there were enough investigations. Tesla does not want to use any additional water for the expansion. A resident from Erkner-Karutzhöhe asked about the solution. “We achieve this through complete recycling of process wastewater and continuous optimization,” said Tesla representative Alexander Riederer.
The planned driving of up to 81,000 piles into the ground also led to discussions. “I think there are significant environmental impacts to be expected,” said one critic. Five environmental associations warn of an obstacle to flow. The car manufacturer replies that the piles have no impact on the water.
Tesla wants to double its goal of producing 500,000 cars a year to one million a year. According to the company, around 250,000 vehicles are currently produced per year. The storage capacity in the production of battery cells is expected to increase from 50 to 100 gigawatt hours per year. Around 11,000 employees work in Grünheide, and with the expansion this will increase to 22,500. Environmentalists have concerns because part of the site is in a water protection area. The company is submitting three-part applications for environmental approval to the state of Brandenburg for the expansion. The factory opened last year.
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The environmental association Green League boycotted the event. “The hearing is a farce,” said state manager Michael Ganschow. Some of the documents are blacked out and there are now newer versions of the application for expansion. “I don’t know what else to do here,” said the chairwoman of the Association for Nature and Landscape Brandenburg, Manu Hoyer, and called for the appointment to be canceled immediately. She later left the room.
Negotiator André Zschiegner rejected criticism. The documents have been changed in the meantime, he says. But that is permissible. It’s just not allowed to create a completely new project. The documents do not have to be so specific that approval can be decided on.
According to its own information, the car manufacturer does not expect any significant hurdles for the first approval. Safety concerns also caused criticism. One participant criticized the fact that the State Environment Agency did not provide information about environmental incidents involving the release of substances. Tesla regretted the incidents but dismissed concerns. “It can be ruled out that there was any environmental damage,” said Tesla representative Riederer.
US Department of Justice is conducting more investigations into Tesla
Tesla came under greater scrutiny from the US Department of Justice in the past quarter. The investigators requested information about employees’ personal remuneration, information about the range of the vehicles and personnel decisions, he said Electric carmanufacturer in the detailed quarterly report published on Monday. These topics are new: In previous reports, inquiries about the Autopilot assistance system had become known. Tesla emphasized that, to the company’s knowledge, no violations had been identified so far.
However, the new inquiries fit with several media reports and events from recent months. The Wall Street Journal and the Bloomberg news agency reported that they were considering a house for the company’s boss Elon Musk to build in Texas, investigators were called into action. There was also an accusation that Tesla sometimes stated excessive ranges. In August, the sudden departure of former CFO Zack Kirkhorn caused a stir.
Tesla shares, listed on the NASDAQ, gained a marginal 0.04 percent to $212.08 at the end of trading.
ERKNER / AUSTIN (dpa-AFX)
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