For the past week, protesters concerned about the environment have been camping outside Tesla’s Gigafactory in Germany. This morning, they stormed the facility. Despite police efforts, they managed to enter. The protesters believe that Tesla shouldn’t expand its Gigafactory because they think the company is not being honest about its environmental impact.
Hundreds of protesters had promised to join the action today. They marched to the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg. Tesla had closed the factory for a national holiday on Thursday and asked workers to stay home on Friday too.
Since Monday, climate protesters have been camping outside the factory. This factory makes the Tesla Model Y, which is sold across Europe. The protesters are part of the Disrupt movement. They’re against capitalism and want to stop greenwashing. Greenwashing is when a company tries to make its product seem environmentally friendly when it’s not.
Disrupt is made up of groups that oppose doubling the production capacity of the Grünheide factory. They say Tesla’s expansion plan will lead to cutting down local forests and could affect water supplies.
Police in the area have said that many unauthorized people are trying to enter the factory grounds. They’ve set up roadblocks around the factory.
Tesla hasn’t said anything about the protest yet. But Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has criticized protesters before. He called them “either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals.”
Tesla wants to increase production at its German plant. The expansion plans include building a rail freight depot and storage facilities. This would help Tesla rely less on other logistics providers and prevent production delays due to parts shortages.
In February, locals voted against authorizing the factory expansion. But the vote doesn’t stop Tesla and local officials from moving forward with their plans.
Opponents of the expansion say it would harm the local environment. The plans might mean cutting down about 250 acres of forest near a conservation area.
