breaking news
The power has been out in the Erkner area in the Oder-Spree district since the morning – the Tesla factory is also affected. It was evacuated and production came to a standstill. The police are now assuming an arson attack.
The police assume an arson attack after a power outage with consequences for the Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin. A police spokesman said this rbb24. Production in the only European Tesla car factory has been at a standstill since the morning following the power outage. The factory in Grünheide near Berlin was evacuated.
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen also spoke of an attack. “If the initial findings are confirmed, it will be a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure,” said Stübgen. “This will have consequences. Thousands of people here have been cut off from basic services and put in danger.”
Electricity pole set on fire
According to the ministry, unknown perpetrators deliberately set fire to a high-voltage pylon in the region in the east of Brandenburg near Berlin early in the morning. The fire damaged the high-voltage line so much that the power supply to the surrounding towns and the nearby Tesla factory failed.
In the only European Tesla car factory, the power outage led to a production stop. The factory was evacuated and the night shift had to leave the factory early in the morning, according to the company.
“We are investigating the initial suspicion that it was deliberate arson,” said a police spokesman. The State Criminal Police Office began investigations. They would be led in all directions, said a spokeswoman. The electricity pylon in question is free in a field and is not fenced in. The car manufacturer said that an arson attack was assumed and referred to information from the responsible authorities.
No information about the perpetrators
When asked, the authorities initially did not comment on a possible connection with protests around the Tesla factory site. Since Thursday, around 80 to 100 environmental activists have been occupying part of the state forest in Brandenburg near the Tesla factory, which Elon Musk’s company wants to clear in the event of an expansion of its site.
Stübgen also stated that nothing could yet be said about the perpetrators. “That’s why I warn against hasty speculation.”