Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday questioned the intellectual abilities and independence of the hundreds of environmental activists who gathered in Grunheide, near Berlin, to protest against the planned expansion of the company’s sole gigafactory in Europe.
What Happened: Germany’s public broadcaster DW reported on Sunday that hundreds of environmental activists protested against Tesla’s proposed expansion of its Berlin gigafactory over the weekend. A smaller group of people who supported the expansion also staged a counter-protest, the report said.
Musk on Tuesday took to X to respond to a video of the protestors. “Either they're dumber than a doorstop or they're puppets of sinister forces,” Musk wrote.
Environmental Concerns Pose Production Threats: The German gigafactory, located near Berlin, was reconnected to the electricity grid on Monday at 8:45 p.m. local time after a week-long outage caused by an arson attack.
The German factory was forced to halt production on Tuesday, March. 5, following an arson attack nearby. A far-left activist organization named the “Vulkan” Group claimed responsibility for the incident in which no one was injured. In a statement posted on the website kontrapolis.info, the group explained its actions, citing concerns about the environmental impact of the factory caused by Tesla's "green capitalism."
Production at the factory is expected to restart this week.
Musk condemned the act last week and termed the arsonists “the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth.” Musk further claimed that stopping the production of electric vehicles as opposed to vehicles powered by fossil fuels is “extremely dumb.”
Tesla’s Expansion Plans: As per Tesla’s 2023 annual report, the factory currently has an installed annual vehicle capacity of 375,000 Model Y vehicles. The company is currently looking to expand the plant to double its capacity for battery production to 100 gigawatt hours and car production to 1 million units annually.
In February, local residents near the factory voted against Tesla's plans to clear trees for the expansion of the facility. However, a Tesla executive then affirmed that the company remains committed to its expansion efforts despite the community's decision.
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