Around the Gigafactory in Grünheide Activists have until May 12th to take action against the planned expansion of the Tesla-Factory announced. This includes a demonstration by the alliance initiative “Turn off the tap from Tesla”, which has set up a camp on the festival meadow in Grünheide. Action days are also planned together with “Disrupt”, the association of various anti-capitalist climate protection movements, on the topic of water. As part of this, creative disruptive actions against Tesla are planned.
Tesla has already prepared for disruptive actions. Fences were erected around the parking lot in front of the factory. The police expect a larger operation.
3:35 p.m. – Paramedics at the protest camp
With more than 1,200 people expected at the protest camp on the festival meadow, it must also be expected that health problems could arise among participants. The Berlin Medical Collective is on site with a treatment tent and trained paramedics to help people in the camp if necessary.
According to them, things have been quiet so far and there have already been some smaller activities. Among other things, animal bites, for example from ticks, had to be treated. Even during actions outside the camp, a team is on site to provide help in an emergency, it was said.
1:40 p.m. – More than 1200 people expected at the camp
“The over 1,200 registrations for the camp show that water conservation is important to people and that they do not want Tesla to expand its factory,” said Karolina Drzewo from Tesla. The camp on the festival meadow in Grünheide has been very popular since Thursday morning. People are finding out about the problem, but they also want to take a stand against the expansion of the Tesla factory, it is said.
According to Tesla, people from all over Germany are expected to turn off the tap, even internationally, people will come to demonstrate together.
1:00 p.m. – Action training on the festival lawn
The most active people carry out action training on the festival lawn. It would be about practicing in a protected space how to behave when clearing a sit-in. It was emphasized not to use violence against emergency services.
12.00 p.m. – Press conference in the protest camp
In the protest camp on the festival meadow in Grünheide, the speakers from the various alliances and the Grünheide citizens’ initiative provided information about the next few days. Various actions are planned to protest against the expansion of the Tesla factory. Among other things, several thousand participants are expected at a demonstration on Saturday.
9:33 p.m. – The police draw positive preliminary conclusions
On Wednesday evening, the police gave a positive assessment of the first day. “There have been no violent riots so far,” said a spokesman. At the start of the action days on Wednesday, around 50 people demonstrated in front of the state parliament in Potsdam. According to police, it remained peaceful. The environmental group Robin Wood put up a banner reading “Transportation change instead of car companies” very close to the Tesla factory, which the police removed.
2:30 p.m. – Union calls for peaceful protests
The police union (GdP) has expressed concern about possible clashes during the protests against the Tesla electric car factory in Grünheide near Berlin. GdP leader Antia Kirsten appealed to the demonstrators to remain peaceful so that the situation does not escalate. The GdP chairwoman Kirsten said there were fears that violent clashes would occur because there had been public calls to “storm Tesla”.
“It is important that you exercise the right to assemble. But the top priority must be that it takes place peacefully,” said the union leader. The Brandenburg police emphasized that they were prepared for all scenarios.
2 p.m. – Police are preparing for extensive events
As the Potsdam police headquarters announced, the police are preparing for “extensive operations and various scenarios” as part of the “days of action against Tesla”, as a spokesman announced on Wednesday. Accordingly, it is the police’s task to ensure freedom of assembly and the protection of public safety and order.
“As a result of the assessment of the situation, disruptive actions and the commission of crimes typical of meetings cannot be ruled out,” said the police spokesman. They were therefore prepared for both a peaceful outcome and an unpeaceful protest. “The emergency services will intervene consistently in the event of crimes,” said the police.
11.55 a.m. – Film documentary in the Erkner cinema
On Thursday (May 9th) the film “Lützerath – Together for a Good Life” will be shown at the Movieland Erkner cinema. The film screening takes place as part of the days of protest against the expansion of the Tesla factory. The suggestion for this came from the Grünheide citizens’ initiative.
The aim is to offer the citizens of the region an opportunity to engage with the form of resistance “forest occupation”, according to a statement. Since the end of February, environmental activists from the “Stop Tesla” initiative have occupied a section of the forest near the electric car manufacturer’s factory.
10:00 a.m. – First participants in the tent camp on the festival meadow
9.55 a.m. – Large police presence in front of the factory
Hundreds of activists are expected from Wednesday (May 8th). According to the police, there may be traffic restrictions in Grünheide when you arrive. A large contingent is already present in the area around the factory in the morning. Around 50 vehicles were parked here on Wednesday morning. Others are positioned along the A10 motorway and on the bridges.
According to MOZ.de information, the Brandenburg officials are supported by police forces from Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate as well as the federal police. Tesla is cordoned off with bars all around. There are police cars there too.
8.45 a.m. – Tesla sends employees to work from home
Tesla will only allow employees at the Grünheide plant near Berlin to work from home on Friday amid protests against the planned expansion of the factory. The electric car manufacturer also emphasized that the day off after Ascension Day had already been announced to the workforce in January.
“The fact that there will be no production on Bridge Day has nothing to do with the protests,” said a spokeswoman on Tuesday. However, with this in mind, it was decided that “the rest of the workforce would work from home”.
The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported, citing an email to the workforce, that production at Tesla’s only factory in Europe would come to a standstill for four days. Tesla points out that there is generally no production in the factory on Sundays and only occasionally on Saturdays. And a day without production on a public holiday in Germany is “nothing unusual”. Opponents of the Tesla expansion announced protests in Grünheide in the coming days. (dpa)