March 07, 2024 – An extreme environmentalist group calling itself the “Volcano Group” claimed responsibility for a fire attack on a high-voltage tower near Tesla’s German factory on Tuesday, resulting in a halt to production. The blaze caused damage to some factory facilities, and combined with the losses from the production stoppage, Tesla’s financial toll is expected to mount.
On March 6th, local time, Tesla announced that its “Gigafactory” in Germany would be shut down until March 17th, longer than previously anticipated.
The fire also affected surrounding areas, leaving over 60,000 residents without power and raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to such deliberate destruction.
In a statement following the incident, the “Volcano Group” admitted to the attack and used derogatory language to describe Tesla CEO Elon Musk, labeling him a “misery.” They went on to state that destroying Tesla factories and expelling “techno-fascists” like Musk is a necessary step towards “liberating patriarchal oppression.”
According to Andre Thierig, a senior executive at the Tesla factory, the financial losses from the production stoppage could amount to “hundreds of millions of euros” as approximately 1,000 cars are unable to be produced each day. The factory in Grünheide is Tesla’s first in Europe and is responsible for producing the Model Y for multiple European markets, including Germany.
Due to the power outage caused by the fire, the factory’s backup systems failed to operate, and it now relies on power from a local substation disconnected from the grid. Damage to the ventilation system has forced all 12,500 employees to stop work and go home, with repairs expected to take several days.
Musk described the “Volcano Group” as “the stupidest eco-terrorists on the planet.” The group typically targets remote areas and frequently disrupts vital infrastructure such as telecommunications networks, trains, and manufacturing plants.
This is not the first time the “Volcano Group” has targeted the Tesla factory. In May 2021, during the construction phase, they disrupted the power supply to the site. At that time, Brandenburg’s Minister of Industry, Jörg Steinbach, expressed support for Tesla and promised to prevent further attacks.
The attack has compounded the challenges Tesla faces in Europe. Local residents have raised concerns about the factory’s expansion and environmental issues.
