2024-03-02 22:30:13
The community of Grünheide in Brandenburg is in itself a pure idyll: the name says it all, large areas of forest are lined up next to a lake district including a nature reserve. But since 2022, there has also been a concrete desert of around 300 hectares in Grünheide, around 30 kilometers as the crow flies from the center of Berlin: the European Tesla Gigafactory, one of the largest electric car factories in Germany and the first and so far only Tesla factory in Europe.
Now Tesla wants to expand the site, which would require 100 hectares of forest to be cut down. They want to build a freight station, warehouses and a company kindergarten.
Protest in the tree house
There were already violent protests from environmental protection organizations once morest the construction starting in 2020, and the residents never really warmed up to their new big neighbor. Tesla’s new expansion plans were recently rejected by a majority in a referendum. The local council is now expected to decide on the development plan in May.
Tesla is also criticized because, according to official measurements, certain wastewater values in Grünheide were exceeded. The people in Grünheide fear for their groundwater. The responsible Strausberg-Erkner water association therefore met for a special meeting on Friday. The result: Tesla does not currently have to expect a stop to its wastewater disposal.
However, the association meeting did not come to an agreement and the draft resolution to stop disposal was postponed. Tesla had previously warned the water association: “You are aware that stopping the discharge of the Gigafactory’s wastewater would lead to a stop in production at the Gigafactory. Such a decision causes millions of dollars in damage every day,” the company said in a letter.
Photo series with 5 pictures
New protests once morest the expansion were therefore to be expected – but this time the activists came not only with a demonstration and banners, but also with tree houses and provisions. A camp had been set up in the forest near the factory site since Thursday night, and around 80 to 100 activists were there at the beginning of the weekend. They built tree houses several meters high, stretched ropes between the pine trees and pitched tents.
The police are letting things go for now
The police let the activists do what they did and observed what was happening. The police had decided that the protest might continue until March 15th. Since the meeting was not registered, criminal proceedings were initiated for violating the assembly law, a spokesman said on Friday.
But the campers want to protest for as long as they believe is necessary: “The longer the occupation lasts, the better,” said a spokeswoman for the “Stop Tesla” initiative. She called on other supporters to visit the camp and bring materials such as lumber, saws, climbing equipment and hammocks. “We hope that more people will come by.” People are open to discussion, but “don’t let yourself be pushed out of the forest.” A few more protest events in the forest were planned for the whole weekend.
“What else has to happen for politicians to react and finally put human welfare ahead of profit interests,” said Lou Winters from the “Turn off the tap to Tesla” alliance on Saturday. “Our protest has just begun and will only get bigger,” announced Winters. A demonstration to protest once morest Tesla is planned for March 10th. There should be further actions in May. “E-mobility currently enjoys a green veneer, but it is not a solution to the climate crisis,” argued Winters. She called for expanded and free public transport.
Silence at Tesla
Tesla did not comment on the protest camp next to the factory – just as the company’s entire communications strategy surprised some. The Berlin-Brandenburg business associations (UVB) have now publicly advised Tesla to adopt a more open information policy. “It’s a bit of an unusual strategy not to talk to anyone except the responsible authorities,” said UVB managing director Alexander Schirp on RBB Inforadio on Friday.
“There is a lot of room for improvement because you can send messages that have the power to convince,” said Schirp. It is hardly known that Tesla did not receive “a single euro of funding” for the plant. 1,200 of the 12,000 employees – a tenth – were hired because of unemployment.
Resistance elsewhere too
Protests once morest Tesla have been going on for a long time and very consistently in Scandinavia: a strike by the IF Metall union has been spreading increasingly widely for almost four months. Initially, around 130 Tesla employees stopped working in order to force the company to enter into a collective agreement. Gradually, other industries and unions joined the strike, from dock workers who stopped loading cars to cleaning staff at Tesla offices.
In the meantime, even the Seko services and communications union expressed solidarity with the Tesla strikers. This means that no new charging stations will be connected or planned for Tesla. Trade unions in Denmark, Norway and Finland also support the industrial action.
IF Metall recently announced that it would allow individual repairs on Tesla vehicles once more. The planned exemption is intended to help Tesla owners “who are hardest hit by the conflict” – but not in purely Tesla workshops, but only in those that deal with brands from different manufacturers. So far, Tesla boss Elon Musk, who is considered an opponent of unions, has not given in, and an agreement seems a long way off. It is unclear whether he wants to accommodate the activists in Grünheide.
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