Germany: Tesla’s Only Plant in Europe Sabotaged by Environmental Extremists

Elon Musk called them “the stupidest eco-terrorists on Earth” or “puppets in the hands of people who have no good environmental goals.” Ending the production of electric cars, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, is extrem dumm.” Which is German for “extreme stupidity.”

On March 5, a group described as “left-wing extremists” or “eco-terrorists” set fire to a support pole in the Gosen-Neu Zittau area of Germany, leaving much of the area completely blacked out, including the town of Grünheide, home to Tesla’s only European manufacturing site, which has been at the center of recent controversy over an expansion plan, opposed by a significant portion of residents.

After the accident, the plant had to halt production for at least all of this week and suspend the 12,000 workers employed at the facility; production losses are estimated at about 1000 cars per day.

The group, to which the sabotage was attributed, is called Vulcan. It claimed responsibility for the attack, arguing that the plant, which produces about 500,000 electric cars per year, exploits natural resources and labor and is neither environmentally friendly nor sustainable, and it hopes for the “total destruction of the Gigafactory.” According to Italian news agency ANSA, the group has already been responsible for arson attacks, one of which was committed against this particular plant in 2021, when it was still under construction.