Hundreds of protesters, rallying against the expansion of Tesla’s plant in Grünheide, near Berlin, clashed with police last Friday. Around 800 individuals participated in the demonstration, with some trying to storm the electric vehicle production site.
The protest was organized by the group Disrupt Tesla, which argues that the expansion would harm the environment. Since opening in March 2022, Tesla has faced significant opposition, particularly after announcing plans to extend the facility into an adjacent forest to boost production capacity.
In February, residents of the town hosting the Tesla factory voted against its expansion plans in a non-binding referendum. Since then, protesters have established a nearby encampment. In March, the facility was temporarily shut down for a week due to a suspected arson attack that cut off its power supply. The Volcano Group, a separate protest collective, claimed responsibility for the incident, advocating for the “complete destruction of the gigafactory.”
During last Friday’s protest, video footage showed dozens of individuals wearing blue caps and masks emerging from a nearby forest and attempting to breach the factory grounds, with police using force to block their entry. At least one protester was detained. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the social media platform X, questioning why the police were lenient with the “leftwing protestors” and noted that the demonstrators did not succeed in penetrating the premises. Tesla, which has not maintained a press department since 2020, did not issue a comment.
“We are here today to highlight the environmental harm caused by the Tesla factory in Grünheide,” Becker told Reuters. The police confirmed that protesters attempted to access the factory grounds but were halted, resulting in several arrests and a few reports of injuries. “We support the right to peaceful assembly,” stated Mario Heinemann, a spokesperson for the Brandenburg police, “but we also have a duty to maintain public order and safety, which includes intervening when necessary.”
Additionally, Heinemann noted that some demonstrators vandalized a number of Tesla vehicles with pyrotechnics and paint at a nearby storage site. Earlier in the week, Tesla announced it would close the factory for one day on Friday, though it did not provide a specific reason for the shutdown.