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The US electric car manufacturer Tesla has to stop work on the site for the planned factory in Grünheide near Berlin for the time being.

The company has not yet deposited a security deposit required by the State Office for the Environment, the Ministry of the Environment confirmed on request on Friday.

The "Tagesspiegel" had previously reported.

Accordingly, Tesla is not allowed to continue early permits such as installing the machines in the paint shop and clearing the forest, as a decision from the State Environment Agency shows.

Tesla would have had to provide a security deposit of 100 million euros by December 17.

The company could not be reached for a comment on Friday morning.

According to the approval authority's decision, the company has until January 4, 2021 to deposit the services.

"The work can go on when the security is deposited," explained a ministry spokeswoman.

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In a little more than half a year, electric cars should roll off the assembly line in Grünheide.

Although the state of Brandenburg has not yet issued a final environmental permit for the first Tesla factory in Europe, construction is progressing at a rapid pace - via preliminary permits that are possible.

Against this, environmentalists complain again and again and they often achieve (partial) success.

Last week, the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court prohibited further clearing by Tesla after a complaint by the nature conservation association Nabu and the environmental association Green League Brandenburg.

The final decision of the court is still pending.

Starting next summer, Tesla plans to initially build 500,000 vehicles per year with around 12,000 employees in the factory in Grünheide.

Up to 40,000 employees in a possible fourth expansion stage are described there.