ALBAWABA - About 800 activists were involved in confrontation with German police on Friday as they attempted to storm a Tesla factory located in a forested region, protesting the carmaker facility’s effects on environment.
The organizing group Disrupt Tesla explained in a statement on its official website that the demonstration was a part of an attempt to halt the factory's upcoming expansion in Grueneheide, close to Berlin, which they claim might result in environmental problems.
“In order for the Earth to remain our home in the long term, we should be brave enough to creatively redesign this work,” the protesters’ statement read, adding that “the fight against this car factory is a fight against every car factory.”
Environmental activists have stormed the grounds of Tesla’s Gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. Police equipped with riot gear violently attempted to disperse the protesters as they staged the largest protest Elon Musk’s top factory has ever seen.
For several… pic.twitter.com/GdERtjiHvE— red. (@redstreamnet) May 10, 2024
In 2020, the Tesla plant was constructed in Grünheide, close to Berlin, lacking a permission, the protesters alleged, adding that it was only later allowed while requiring the clearing of over 200 square meters of woodland. In order to increase production, Tesla now intends to remove an additional 50 hectares of forest.
The state police of Brandenburg noted in a statement that at least 16 individuals were detained on Friday for engaging in acts such as breaking into an airfield, destroying new Tesla cars, and obstructing a state road beside the plant. Protests are anticipated to keep going throughout the weekend.
