Germany: a small far-left group shuts down a Tesla factory after a fire
The sabotage of the power supply at the Tesla factory near Berlin on Tuesday March 5, claimed by a far-left group, dominates the news in the region and beyond.
This attack on an electricity pylon testifies to the radicalization of certain movements defending the environment or fighting against large industrial projects.
View of the entrance to the Tesla factory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2024. AP - Ebrahim Noroozi
By: RFI Follow
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with our correspondent in Berlin
,
Pascal Thibault
“
Volcanic eruption in Brandenburg
”: the left-wing newspaper
Tageszeitung
, accustomed to ironic front pages, this Wednesday, March 6, made reference to the far-left group “
Vulkan
” (“Volcano” in French).
The movement, monitored by domestic intelligence, has a weakness for attacks against infrastructure, like other organizations which attack large companies whose activities they condemn.
In the early hours of March 5, an electricity pylon near the
Tesla factory site in Germany
, south of the capital Berlin, was set on fire.
The American manufacturer had to stop production at its only factory in Europe – which employs 12,000 people – due to the power outage.
André Thierig, the factory's director, said the act represented "
nine-figure economic damages
" and that he did not know when production could resume.
A “
Vulka
” group is suspected of having attacked the power supply of the same Tesla factory, then under construction, in 2021, accusing the company of being “neither
green, nor environmentally friendly, nor social
”.
Masts and infrastructure necessary for telecommunications are also sometimes attacked.
Reason: the companies that install them practice systematic surveillance of users.
Security experts are concerned about the radicalization of such groups and people active in climate defense organizations.
The Interior Minister condemned the attack on the power supply at the Tesla factory.
On the right, some are calling for more effective and harsher measures against these far-left groups.
Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla
, reacted on his X platform (formerly Twitter): “
They are either the stupidest eco-terrorists on the planet, or the puppets of those who do not have good environmental objectives.
Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, is extremely stupid
,” he wrote.
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 (@elonmusk) March 5, 2024
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