Police confront environmental activists in a forest near the Tesla Gigafactory electric car factory on May 10, 2024 near Gruenheide, Germany.
Axel Schmidt | Getty Images
Climate protesters angry about Tesla’s plans to expand its Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory in Germany tried to break into the plant on Friday, according to a statement from local police.
“Multiple unauthorized people are trying to enter the ground of the Tesla factory,” Brandenburg police said via X Friday. “We are in the process of preventing this.”
“The situation is dynamic,” a Brandenburg police spokesperson told CNBC Friday, adding there have been multiple roadblocks in the area due to the demonstrations.
A Tesla spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC Friday.
Since Monday, a camp was set up near the Tesla grounds at its Brandenburg plant, with participation increasing since Wednesday and peaking on a German bank holiday Thursday, police said.
Police confront environmental activists in a forest near Tesla’s German Gigafactory on May 10, 2024 near Gruenheide, Germany.
Axel Schmidt | Getty Images
Protest gatherings were planned for Friday, one stationary near the Tesla factory grounds and another involving a procession from the camp, the Brandenburg police spokesperson told CNBC.
However, disruptions ensued, including attempts to breach the Tesla premises and sit-in blockades on roads, leading to roadblocks, the spokesperson said.
Protesters also occupied a nearby airfield in the Neuhardenberg municipality, lighting pyrotechnics and blocking access roads, according to the police.
Police intervened, leading to multiple arrests and instances of force. The police operation involved support from neighboring states and national forces, the spokesperson added.
Tesla has told its workers to stay at home rather than come into the factory Friday due to concerns over the protests surrounding its Brandenburg plant, CNN reported previously Wednesday.
André Thierig, a senior manufacturing director at the Tesla factory, on Tuesday confirmed via X that the electric car maker was shuttering production Friday in a “one-day planned production shutdown.”
Tesla is pursuing a major expansion for its battery and car assembly factory in Brandenburg, Germany, which is in the Brandenburg district about an hour’s drive from Berlin.
Police officers guard an access road to the Neuhardenberg airfield. Tesla vehicles produced at the Grünheide plant are temporarily stored on the airfield site.
Patrick Pleul | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Tesla’s planned expansion includes designs for a rail freight depot and storage facilities that could help it avoid reliance on other logistics providers, and avoid production pauses due to parts shortages.
Tesla was dealt a symbolic setback in February when locals voted against authorizing the factory expansion. However, the vote was nonbinding and Tesla and local officials still intend to push ahead with it.
Climate protesters have expressed concerns about Tesla’s plans, which entail cutting down approximately 250 acres of forest in a rural community of fewer than 8,000 residents near a nature conservation area.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has lashed out at protesters targeting Tesla’s German Gigafactory previously, saying on X in March they’re “either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals.”
– CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report
