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Tesla has paused production and evacuated its only European car manufacturing plant after a suspected arson attack on a nearby electricity pylon caused widespread power cuts.
The US company told the Financial Times there had been “no attack on or fire at the factory”, which is situated in the Brandenburg region south-east of Berlin and produces 6,000 cars a week. A spokesperson added it was unclear when production would restart.
Vulkangruppe, an activist organisation that three years ago carried out sabotage attacks while Tesla was building the factory, on Tuesday claimed responsibility. “We sabotaged Tesla today,” the group said, according to German news agency DPA.
Police said they had been informed of the fire, in the district of Gosen Neu Zittau, at 05:15 local time. Firefighters were also called to the scene.
The Tesla factory in Germany, which opened in 2022, has been controversial among environmental campaigners and locals, who two weeks ago overwhelmingly voted against a major expansion plan that would have involved clearing hundreds of hectares of forest to build a railway station and warehouses.
The interior minister of Brandenburg, Michael Stübgen, on Tuesday said there would be consequences if the police discovered arson, adding that thousands of people had been affected by resulting power outages.
Tesla’s plans to double its annual capacity at the plant to 1mn cars have also faced stiff opposition from environmental activists. The factory is in a water conservation zone bordering a nature reserve and the area around it has struggled to cope with falling groundwater levels and frequent droughts in recent years.
It is not the first time Tesla has had to temporarily stop production in Europe. In January, it sent home workers after Houthi missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea caused containers to be rerouted, leading to parts shortages.
Additional reporting by Guy Chazan
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