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Emptiness in front of and in the Tesla factory in Grünheide
Photo:
Lutz Deckwerth/dpa
No electricity, no production: The effects of the arson attack on a power pylon in Brandenburg have more far-reaching consequences for the US electric car manufacturer Tesla than previously assumed.
According to the news agencies dpa and Reuters, production in the so-called Gigafactory in Grünheide will probably remain interrupted until the end of next week.
The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported on it.
A fire on a power line caused a major power outage on Tuesday.
According to the Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior, unknown persons set fire to a high-voltage pylon near Steinfurt on Tuesday morning.
The electricity pylon was free and not fenced in.
Tens of thousands of residents in the region were also affected by the power outage.
A group classified as left-wing extremist claimed to be behind the power outage.
According to a letter, the "volcano group" claimed responsibility for an "attack on the power supply" in protest against the US car manufacturer.
The police described the letter as authentic.
The State Criminal Police Office began investigations.
In an initial statement, the company said it was “shocked” that the alleged arson attack would also “acceptably accept” damage to critical infrastructure such as clinics and thus personal injuries.
Elon Musk, the face of Tesla, tweeted about the “dumbest eco-terrorists in the world.”
"Stopping the production of electric vehicles instead of fossil fuel vehicles is extremely stupid." The Tesla boss wrote the words "extremely stupid" in German.
Damage is likely to increase
With the forced longer production stop, the damage to Tesla is likely to increase.
Most recently, the company said the damage was several hundred million euros.
But it was still expected that production would restart next Monday.
The energy network operator Edis wants to end the power outage at Tesla as soon as possible, as it announced on Wednesday.
Emergency services worked with the highest priority on a provisional technical solution to resupply the previously unsupplied industrial settlement and production as well as the logistics center as quickly as possible.
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