According to a report, Tesla's European Gigafactory, situated near Berlin, has ceased operations until further notice following what CEO Elon Musk described as an "extremely foolish" suspected arson attack nearby, resulting in a power outage on Tuesday.
The incident occurred southeast of the German capital, where a fire ignited an electricity pylon adjacent to the Tesla site. Fortunately, the fire did not spread to the factory itself. However, the disruption forced Tesla to halt production, at least until early next week, resulting in significant financial losses estimated to be in the high hundreds of millions of euros. Approximately 1,000 vehicles were left incomplete as a result of the outage on Tuesday alone.
While a company official refrained from commenting on whether this setback would impact the site's plans to double its capacity, he condemned the negative sentiment directed towards Tesla.
Emergency responders swiftly extinguished the fire, and power was mostly restored to the surrounding areas. Joerg Steinbach, the economy minister of Brandenburg, where Tesla's plant is situated, condemned the suspected attack, describing it as having "terrorist markings" and impacting tens of thousands of individuals, including those reliant on electricity for essential services.
Following the incident, the Tesla site, which employs approximately 12,500 workers, was evacuated, and most employees were sent home. In response to the attack, Elon Musk criticized the perpetrators, labeling their actions as either incredibly foolish or serving the agenda of individuals with misguided environmental goals.
This event marks the latest challenge for Tesla in Europe, where it has faced union pressures for collective bargaining agreements and disruptions in the supply chain due to attacks on shipping routes. Despite these setbacks, Tesla remains committed to its expansion plans in Europe, aiming to dominate the market with increased production capacity and battery production at its Gigafactory.
