Tesla was forced to suspend the Gigafactory Berlin after a significant power outage that could have been caused by sabotage.
It’s been a tough few weeks for Tesla’s factory in Berlin, the automaker’s only plant in Europe, transmits Electrek. First, it was forced to halt production due to supply issues amid problems with the passage of cargo ships through the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el Mandeb Strait (the exit from the Red Sea) due to the civil war in Yemen.
Then, local residents of Grünheide, the municipality where Tesla Gigafactory Berlin is located, voted against the plant’s expansion, which would require the deforestation of more than 100 hectares of forest. In parallel, environmental activists camped out in the forest outside the factory to try to stop the expansion.
In the end, Tesla was forced to halt production and evacuate the plant amid a potential threat of power sabotage. According to reports, unknown persons set fire to a high-voltage pole between the cities of Steinfurt and Hartmannsdorf early Tuesday morning, leaving about 2,000 people without electricity, including the Gigafactory in Berlin.
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stuebgen (CDU) said there was a «treacherous attack» on the power supply infrastructure. So far, no one has claimed the attack, but it is rumored that Tesla is the target, based on the location and timing of the attack, as environmental activists are calling for action against the company.
Tesla has told local media in Germany that it has secured the plant, but it is unclear when it will be able to resume production due to the power situation. After consultations with electricity supplier EDIS, the company does not expect a quick restart of production.