How far-left activists put thousands of lives at risk after alleged Tesla arson attack

On Tuesday, Tesla’s electric vehicle plant in Germany had to suspend operations following a suspected arson attack near the establishment. The alleged Tesla arson attack resulted in a power failure not only at the Grünheide Gigafactory near Berlin, but also affected surrounding neighbors. Workers were instructed to stay home until operations resumed after a couple of days.

A group of far-left activists have claimed responsibility citing the effects the plant has on water supply and the environment. But was that enough to put lives in danger?

The facts

More than 12,000 workers were reported to have been at the site when the power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s European plant were set on fire by unknown attackers.

Although the fire was quenched, the electrical cables had already been severely damaged leading to power outages at the factory and nearby villages. Electricity has been restored in affected towns but the Tesla plant remains without power. Authorities say it will take some days to have it fixed.

German police has launched an investigation into the attack.

With the factory’s opening in March 2022, Tesla faced up against the domestic German automakers. Unknown assailants were reported to have engaged in a similar attack prior to the opening of the plant in 2021.

The business intends to enlarge the building in order to include warehouses, a freight station, and an employee kindergarten. More than 247 acres of woodland would be cut down as part of those proposals.

The arguments

According to Tesla’s deal with the German government, the new factory will require 1.4 million cubic meters of water annually, which is about equivalent to the annual water use of a city with a population of around 30,000.

Even before the Gigafactory in Grünheide opened, Tesla encountered opposition. Locals also opposed the automaker’s most recent plans to quadruple the site’s manufacturing capacity to a million electric vehicles annually. They were concerned about the plant’s water usage and the environmental impact it will have on people living close.

Environmental activists have set up various tents including tree houses to in a protest against Tesla’s expansion in the wooded area close to the plant. The group known as ‘Stop Tesla’ have also denied being involved in the arson attack. They share in the locals’ concern that the development will cause a possible water shortage in the area. Resident complained of a looming drought in the area as a result of the decrease in rainfall. They fear there’s be no more drinking water if Tesla continues to operations.

Far-left militants from the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) have, however, boldly declared they are behind the act.

“We sabotaged Tesla today. Because Tesla in Grünau eats up earth, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week. Our gift for March 8th is to shut down Tesla,” part of the statement by the group said.

“The Gigafactory has become known for its extreme conditions of exploitation. The factory contaminates the groundwater and uses huge amounts of the already scarce drinking water resource for its products.”

Observers have condemned the “careless” act by the far-left militants which could have become a disaster if the fire had not been managed swiftly. Thousands of properties may have been lost if firefighters had not arrived to quench the fire.

This is because of the extreme dryness that has plagued Brandenburg for years. This has made it ideal for wildfires to develop. Experts say that the extreme heat and lack of rain are both consequences of climate change.

The interior minister of Brandenburg, Michael Stuebgen, stated that should ongoing investigations prove it was arson, the act would be a cunning attack on the town’s electrical infrastructure.

He added that thousands of people were put in danger and have been cut off from their basic supplies.  “The rule of law will react to such an act of sabotage with the utmost severity,” he said as quoted by Aljazeera.

Others also suspect the attack could be a ploy by German’s domestic automakers, who are struggling to keep up with electronic vehicles market, to resist a further expansion of the Tesla plant in Germany.

But Tesla founder, Elon Musk, argued that to launch an attack in an attempt to stop the production of electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles didn’t make sense.

“These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm,” Elon Musk wrote  X, formerly Twitter using the German word for “is extremely dumb” in the latter part of his statement.

Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister in Germany, Nancy Faeser, has condemned the alleged attack. She described the offence as a “serious crime that cannot be justified by anything”.