Mobility Grünheide
Environmental activists demonstrate against Tesla expansion
Status: 10.03.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Tesla-Grünheide is set to grow by 170 hectares: environmentalists fear increasing water consumption
Source: AFP/ODD ANDERSEN
Activists protested in Grünheide against the expansion of the Tesla factory. According to the company’s own information, over 1,000 participants came together. Meanwhile, another group continues to occupy a forest near the factory.
Accompanied by the police, environmental activists demonstrated on Sunday afternoon in Grünheide against the expansion plans of the electric car manufacturer Tesla. The spokeswoman for the environmental alliance “Turn off Tesla,” Lou Winters, said that well over 1,000 participants came. The police did not provide any information about the size of the demonstration.
The security authority issued a requirement that demonstrators were not allowed to wear masks. Posters read “Less car, more space to live” and “Water is a human right.”
Police filed five criminal charges during the demonstration. The security authorities took action against three people because of masking, as a police spokesman said in the evening. One person is said to have given the banned Hitler salute to a group of protesters. The police are also investigating suspicions of grievous bodily harm. According to initial findings, a man and his partner from the group of an environmental initiative were injured with a club, as the spokesman said.
The protest march by the “Turn off Tesla” alliance is primarily directed against the expansion of the Tesla site for a freight station and logistics and storage areas.
Pro-Tesla posters hung along the protest route
Source: AFP/ODD ANDERSEN
In addition, residents who wanted to show their solidarity with Tesla and saw the settlement as an opportunity for the future development of the community demonstrated at a second rally in Grünheide.
The attack on Tesla’s power supply, which the left-wing extremist “Vulkan Group” claimed responsibility for, caused uncertainty in the region. Security precautions have been strengthened. On Tuesday, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to a freely accessible electricity pylon, which is also responsible for supplying the car factory. As a result of the attack, Tesla expects production in Grünheide to remain interrupted until the end of next week.
Forest occupiers don’t want to clear the camp
Another group of environmental activists is currently occupying a piece of forest near the factory premises. Despite the attack on the electric car manufacturer, they announced that they would not leave the forest voluntarily for the time being.
Forest occupation with tree house
Quelle: dpa/Christophe Gateau
A spokeswoman for the “Stop Tesla” initiative made it clear that the protest would continue indefinitely. When asked whether they wanted to be cooperative in the event of an impending eviction, she said: “We will stay until we are sure that the forest and the water will no longer be sold to Tesla.”
The police said on Sunday that they were keeping a close eye on gatherings in the forest. So far the police have allowed the camp until March 15th.