Arson suspected at Tesla plant in Germany

BERLIN — Production at Tesla’s electric vehicle plant in Germany came to a standstill and workers were evacuated Tuesday after a power outage that officials suspected was caused by arson. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, condemned the incident.

The Interior Ministry in the state of Brandenburg, where the plant is located, said unidentified people were suspected of deliberately setting fire to a high-voltage transmission line on a power pylon. The state criminal investigation department began an investigation.

Police said they were examining an email that claimed responsibility, German news agency dpa reported.

The report said a far-left group called Volcano Group claimed it was behind the fire, accused Tesla of “extreme exploitation conditions” and called for the “complete destruction of the gigafactory.”

It was not clear who the email was sent to or who was behind the group.

Referring to the possible attackers, Musk, who owns about 13% of Tesla stock, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “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,” he added, using German for “extremely stupid.”

The power outage came as environmental activists have been protesting in a forest near the plant against plans by Tesla to expand. Dozens of activists have put up tents and built treehouses, a tactic used in previous environmental protests.

The morning fire caused power to fail in surrounding towns, including Grünheide, where the factory is located. Electricity was restored after a few hours in the nearby towns and villages, but Tesla remained without energy and authorities said it would likely take several days to restore it at the plant.

Tesla opened the factory in March 2022. The company wants to fell more than 247 acres of forest to expand the facility to add a freight depot, warehouses and a company kindergarten.