Activists want to stop the plant’s planned growth, which most people in the area are against.
During the conflicts that took place between activists and law enforcement on Friday, protesters in Germany burst over police barricades to demonstrate against climate change. As far as the protesters are concerned, they either made it onto the premises of a Tesla gigafactory in Grunheide, Germany, which is located close to Berlin, or they made it near the grounds, as stated by the local police. In preparation for a vote that will take place the following week to determine whether or not Tesla’s facility may grow, this demonstration is scheduled to take place over the course of five days.
Activists, many of whom have been camping out in treehouses in surrounding forest encampments, may be seen in social media videos that have been reported by Wired. These films show them sprinting toward a Tesla facility that is located on the property. In addition, the German publication Welt reported that at least one participant had an injury during the gathering. According to reports, law enforcement officers used batons and pepper spray in an effort to disperse the throng, and at least some people were taken into custody.
After breaking through the police barriers and storming the Tesla grounds, a spokesman for one of the groups who participated in the protests informed Wired that they broke through the barriers. Lucia Mende, who works for Disrupt Tesla, stated that eight hundred individuals had infiltrated the premises of the gigafactory thus far. On the other hand, the local police force reported on X, which is Musk’s social media network, that the activists had only reached a field that was facing the site. Their message stated, “We have been successful in preventing them from entering up to this point.”
At least at first glance, it is simple to wonder why activists are devoting such a significant amount of their energy to the competition against Tesla. After all, in spite of Musk’s increasingly irrational right-wing conspiracy-mongering and Nazi-categorization on X, other automakers that are promoting gas-guzzling automobiles appear to be more acceptable targets (not to mention the fossil fuel businesses that are investing a lot of money on anti-climate-reform disinformation). There are, however, a number of elements that make the issues that are at the core of the protests less straightforward.
A vote that was held in February and was not binding revealed that residents of Grunheide were opposed to the expansion by a ratio of almost two to one. If for no other reason, the fact that the local administration has the opportunity to disregard the majority desire of the voters in the name of capitalism is enough to raise eyebrows in anyone who is opposed to the tyranny of the minority.
According to Wired, the region is also one of the most water-scarce in Germany, and inhabitants are concerned that the gigafactory will deplete the resource, leaving significantly less water for the people who live there. Additionally, the factory has the potential to contaminate the water supplies in the surrounding area.
That dread seems to have some basis in reality: The plant has been granted permission to utilize 1.4 million cubic meters of water on an annual basis, and according to a separate story published by Wired on Tuesday, this amount is sufficient to supply water to a major town. over the concerns over pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a fine to Tesla in 2019 for multiple violations of hazardous waste regulations at a manufacturing located in California. In order to reach a settlement, the corporation paid a grand amount of $31,000. During the year 2019, Tesla’s market capitalization was close to $76 billion.
On the other hand, some of the groups that are participating in the demonstrations have concerns that extend far further than the more immediate problems that are hurting the locals. These groups are opposed to the overall push toward electric vehicles. “Companies like Tesla are there to save the car industry, they are not there to save the climate,” Esther Kamm, a spokesperson for Turn Off the Tap on Tesla, said in an interview with Wired.
An further activist, who only provided Wired with the name Mara, referred to the factory as the product of “green capitalism.” She considers the electric vehicle movement to be little more than a theatrical act that is being done for the sake of making money. “This has been completely thought up by such companies in order to have more growth, even in times when there is an environmental crisis,” she said.
To argue that ignoring the electric vehicle movement is a “workable” response to the climate catastrophe that is very real and urgent would be an understatement. Regardless of your position on the issue, the world needs to move rapidly in order to protect itself from the most devastating effects of climate change. The scientific community has reached an agreement that the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) that is currently being planned will need to play a vital role.
According to reports, Tesla instructed its workers at the facility to perform their jobs from home on Friday, thereby closing the plants in preparation for the planned demonstrations. As for the demonstrations that took place on Friday, Welt writes that the situation had subsided by the afternoon, at least for the time being.