Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
BERLIN — Production at Tesla's electric vehicle factory in Germany was halted and employees were evacuated Tuesday morning following a power outage caused by suspected arson, drawing criticism from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Andre Thierig, who manages 12,500 employees at the Grünheide Gigafactory near Berlin, said it would be several days before production could restart. He said the outage would cost the country “in the nine-figure euro range,” or more than $100 million.
The incident at Tesla's first European plant is another setback for the company, which is facing global supply chain problems due to pressure from Germany's metal workers' union and attacks on Red Sea shipping.
“We are very concerned about the safety of our staff,” Thierryg told reporters Tuesday afternoon. However, the outage “did not pose any risk to people or the environment,” he added.
Police said firefighters extinguished a fire that broke out at a nearby high-voltage transmission tower early this morning and prevented it from spreading to Gigafactory. The power outage also affected surrounding areas, reaching some boroughs of Berlin.
Police also confirmed they were investigating a confession posted online by the far-left 'Volcano Group'. The group called for the 'complete destruction of the Gigafactory' because it claimed Tesla was 'eating the planet, its resources, its people and its labour'. We produce 6,000 SUVs, killer machines and monster trucks every week.”
musk wrote on, in a previous tweet, said: “These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on the planet or puppets of people who have no good environmental goals.” “It would be extremely stupid to stop producing electric cars instead of fossil fuel cars,” he added, using a German word meaning “extremely stupid.”
German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a statement condemning the alleged attack on critical energy infrastructure. She said the attack was a “serious crime that cannot be justified by anything.”
Musk's decision to build the most modern gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin poses a challenge to Germany's domestic automakers, which are struggling to keep up with the electric vehicle (EV) market.
Tesla was facing resistance even before it opened the doors to its Gigafactory in Grünheide. Local residents are concerned about the plant's water usage and are opposing the carmaker's recent plans to double the plant's manufacturing capacity to one million vehicles a year.
Last week, environmental activists set up tents and built a makeshift treehouse in a forested area that Tesla plans to clear for expansion.