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Tesla production halted longer after attack - feared image damage

(dpa/Anne-Beatrice Clasmann, Monika Wendel und Oliver von Riegen) After the attack, the Californian electric car pioneer must suspend production in Grünheide for an extended period. The damage amounts to several hundred million euros. The impact on the power supply is even greater than initially estimated. Politics and industry are alarmed.

Standstill at a high level: Tesla's production halt lasts longer than expected. | Photo: dpa/Sebastian Gollnow
Standstill at a high level: Tesla's production halt lasts longer than expected. | Photo: dpa/Sebastian Gollnow
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Johannes Reichel

After the attack on the power supply, production at the U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla in Grünheide is expected to remain interrupted until the end of next week. The company announced this on Wednesday evening in response to an inquiry. Previously, the "Bild" newspaper had reported on this. Unknown assailants had set fire to a power pole in a field on Tuesday, which is also responsible for supplying the Tesla factory. As a result, production in Grünheide near Berlin was halted. Tens of thousands of residents in the region were also affected by the power outage. With the forced longer production stoppage at Tesla's only car plant in Europe, the damage to the company is likely to increase. Tesla recently cited damage of several hundred million euros. However, this was based on an anticipated resumption of production next Monday. Now, another week of downtime is added. After the attack on the power supply, the economy in Germany is pressing for more security.

"Politics and business are jointly challenged to ensure the security of the networks and critical facilities," said Martin Wansleben, chief executive officer of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

The federal government wants to strengthen the protection of important networks and facilities with a law and support the security efforts of the operators. However, the government has been delaying the passing of the corresponding law for months, Wansleben criticized. Unknown perpetrators had set fire to a power pole in a field on Tuesday, which is also responsible for supplying the Tesla factory. The police described a claim of responsibility from the far-left "Volcano Group" as authentic. The energy grid operator Edis announced that emergency crews were working under high pressure to restore power to the Tesla plant and a logistics center.

Law to be introduced in the first half of the year

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday that the federal government condemns such attacks in the strongest terms. The Federal Ministry of the Interior plans for the cabinet to deal with the so-called Kritis-Dachgesetz in the first half of the year. This law aims to better protect critical infrastructure against dangers. Furthermore, it is initially the duty of the network operators to protect their infrastructure, said the spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Maximilian Kall. This is, of course, easier with a substation than with a power pole standing in a field. The Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry suggested that the federal and state governments should be more involved in hazard prevention. Public access to data on critical infrastructure needs to be restricted.
 

Not the first attack

The left-wing extremist "Volcano Group" accuses Tesla of "extreme exploitation conditions." The group wrote about sabotage against Tesla. "We consider the letter to be genuine," said a spokesperson for the Brandenburg police. Although the consequences are far more severe this time, the attack follows the same pattern as the arson attack in May 2021, which damaged a power cable that, among other things, supplied the Tesla construction site. Even then, a letter of self-incrimination from the "Volcano Group," considered authentic by security agencies, surfaced. The perpetrators could not be identified at that time. Therefore, security authorities are operating under the working hypothesis that these are rather loosely connected left-wing extremist small groups with a focus in Berlin and Brandenburg.

Warning against alarmism

It is certain that in recent years, US companies wanting to establish themselves in the Berlin-Brandenburg region have not always been welcome – even beyond attacks and sabotage. In Brandenburg, environmentalists and residents who felt disturbed, as well as the AfD, mobilized against Tesla's Gigafactory. The US internet company Google had acquired a former substation in Berlin's Kreuzberg district and announced at the end of 2016 its intention to establish a campus for young companies and other organizations there. Critics protested against it because they believed the campus would significantly change and make the area more expensive. Ultimately, Google abandoned the start-up campus. When asked by a journalist whether the federal government feared negative consequences for Germany as a business location, the government spokesperson replied: "I would now warn against alarmism."

Minister: Musk reacts matter-of-factly

According to reports, Tesla CEO Elon Musk remained calm despite the temporary shutdown of the plant in Germany. Economy Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) spoke with him on the phone on Tuesday. "Elon Musk was very matter-of-fact and composed in his reaction," Steinbach told the "Tagesspiegel" (Wednesday/online). "There was immediate agreement that no action should be taken that would grant the attackers any success." However, Musk called for solidarity and confidence-building measures to support the company and its employees. 

Resistance against the automaker is growing. In a public survey in Grünheide, about two-thirds rejected Tesla's planned expansion, which includes a freight station and warehouse on an adjacent site. More than 100 hectares of forest are to be cleared there. On Thursday, environmental activists and Tesla critics set up a protest camp with treehouses near the plant in the forest.

Plant manager André Thierig is concerned. With regard to the attack, he sees a "very critical underlying mood, which might also somewhat encourage such behavior." The previously mentioned damage of several hundred million euros, according to information from the German Press Agency, refers to the loss of revenue from cars that are not sold. He estimates a loss of more than 1,000 cars per day.

Industry expert sees image damage

A lot is at stake: About 12,500 people work at Tesla in Grünheide. The automaker plans to expand the existing plant. The planned production of 500,000 cars per year is to be increased to one million. Thierig remains noncommittal about whether these plans will hold.

"Whether this will now have an impact on the further expansion of the factory, I cannot say at this point."

Industry expert Stefan Bratzel sees a certain risk to the production of the German automotive industry following the attack. In addition to power supply, there are other ways to disrupt production, said the head of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach. 

Translated automatically from German.
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