BERLIN — Production at Elon Musk’s European Tesla production plant ground to a halt Tuesday after a burning transmission tower knocked out power at the factory near Berlin in what police suspect was arson.
Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, which also cut power in several nearby villages in the state of Brandenburg. Police are assuming it was arson, according to a statement.
In a letter posted online, the extreme leftist Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) claimed responsibility for the suspected attack on Musk’s Gigafactory.
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“We sabotaged Tesla,” the letter read. It said the attack was a “gift” for March 8 — International Women’s Day. The letter described the attack on the factory and “technofascists” like Musk as a step toward “liberation from patriarchy.”
Authorities are checking the authenticity of the letter.
Musk tweeted that “these are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals.”
Emergency services were called in the early hours of Tuesday following reports of a burning electricity transmission tower close to the site of the electric car manufacturer. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, but local residents were without electricity for several hours.
In a statement, Tesla said that the production facilities were in a “safe state” and that workers were sent home. The production stop pushed Tesla stock into the red, however, with shares at a 2.5 percent loss in premarket trading on Wall Street.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said such an attack on the country’s electricity infrastructure is a “serious crime that cannot be justified by anything.”
“If a left-wing extremist motive is confirmed, then this is further evidence that the left-wing extremist scene does not shy away from attacks on critical energy infrastructure,” she warned.
Tuesday’s blackout came as Tesla assesses its plans to expand its only European site by 170 hectares (420 acres) and double production to as many as 1 million cars per year.
The expansion has been met with criticism from locals and environmentalists, however. Since Thursday, dozens of protesters have built treehouses and occupied part of a forest that would have to be razed to make way for the project. Local residents also rejected the plans in a nonbinding February ballot.
The electric carmaker, which began production at the site in 2022 after an uphill two-year approval and construction process, is no stranger to opposition in the area.
In 2021, the same Volcano Group was suspected of carrying out an arson attack on the power supply at the Tesla construction site. At the time, the group accused Tesla of not being environmentally conscious.