Protestors against Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ:TSLA) expansion efforts at its gigafactory in Berlin on Friday attempted to storm the company's factory, damaged several of the company's EVs, and even injured several police officers.
What Happened: According to the protest organizing group Disrupt Tesla, about 800 people took part in the protests on Friday. The protestors are against the expansion of the company's facilities, which they deem to be harmful to the environment. The EV giant is aiming to double the plant's capacity for battery production to 100-gigawatt hours and car production to 1 million units annually.
"Tesla stands for labor accidents, water scarcity, deforestation, environmental pollution and exploitation here and worldwide," Disrupt Tesla alleged.
As per the Police in Brandenburg, 16 people were taken into custody as of 7 p.m. on Friday. The protestors temporarily blocked roads and rail traffic and some even climbed over the fence at Neuhardenberg airfield and damaged 24 Tesla vehicles with paint. Though several tried to enter Tesla's factory premises, they were prevented by police personnel, the police department said.
Police measures and investigations are ongoing, they added.
Tesla CEO Reacts: Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday criticized the actions against the company. "Something super weird is going on, as Tesla was the only car company attacked!," Musk said on X while also alleging that there is more to the attacks than what "meets the eye."
"Any idea who is orchestrating and funding this?," Musk asked in another post, hinting at a larger campaign against the company. However, he also claimed that there are a lot of protests around Germany over the week as it is "National Protest Week" in the European country.
Tesla had a one-day planned production shutdown at the factory on Friday in anticipation of the protests.
This is fake news.
Protesters did not manage to break through the fenceline. There are still 2 intact fence lines all around.
Note, this is "National Protest Week" in Germany, so there are a lot of protests for many different reasons.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 10, 2024