After Attack: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Expected in Grünheide

For the first time since the attack on the power supply, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is visiting the factory in Grünheide near Berlin, according to a report by "Table Media". According to the publisher's information, Musk will visit the plant on Wednesday. "Table Media" cited company circles. The automaker did not comment on this on Tuesday. After several days of power outage, Tesla has been back online since Monday and is gradually ramping up production. At the same time, calls for an end to the protest camp of environmental activists in the nearby forest are growing louder, as a provisional deadline set by the police expires on Friday (March 15).

It may still take some time before production in Tesla's only European car factory returns to its pre-attack levels.

"When we will be able to fully resume production, we cannot say," the company said on Tuesday. "That is very hard to predict."

Although the power is back on, it is not like a light bulb that immediately lights up after being switched on. Each robot controller has to be restarted individually, and every system has to be checked for potential damage. Plant manager André Thierig estimated the damage to be several hundred million euros a week ago.

Previously unknown perpetrators set fire to a freely accessible power pole in a field in East Brandenburg last Tuesday, which also ensures the supply of the car factory in Grünheide. The left-wing extremist group Vulkan claimed responsibility for the attack. The Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation. Tesla initially expected production to be halted until the end of this week. According to the supplier Edis, the crucial switch was made on Monday evening.

The last known visit of the Tesla chief to the so-called Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg - about 30 kilometers from Berlin's center - was a few months ago: After the opening of the only Tesla factory in Europe about two years ago, Musk briefly visited the factory in November 2023. The factory was opened around two years ago.

Not far from the car factory, environmental activists are protesting against Tesla and electromobility in treehouses. By occupying since the end of February, the initiative "Stop Tesla" aims to prevent the clearing of the forest area as part of an expansion of the Tesla site. The initiative stated that it had nothing to do with the attack. In a citizen survey in Grünheide - the location of the factory - a majority rejected Tesla's expansion plans for a freight yard and logistics areas.