A left-wing extremist organization called the “Volcano Group” claimed responsibility for a suspected arson attack that shut down Tesla’s Gigafactory on the outskirts of Berlin on Tuesday. The factory halted production after a nearby fire cut off electricity to the plant, and police are reportedly investigating a bomb threat. Elon Musk called the attack “extremely dumb.”
“We sabotaged Tesla today,” the group reportedly wrote in a 2,500-word letter posted on the website kontrapolis.info. “Tesla eats up earth, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week. Our gift for March 8th is to shut down Tesla.”
The manifesto goes on to decry Tesla’s use of natural resources, call out the company’s participation in the surveillance state through its cars’ cameras and data collection, criticize Musk’s slide into right-wing “techno-fascists” politics, discuss the treatment of Tesla’s workers, and more, complete with citations.
“The complete destruction of the Gigafactory and with it the sawing off of ‘techno-fascists’ like Elon Musk are a step on the path to liberation from patriarchy,” the letter reads. “Together we will bring Tesla to its knees. Switch off for Tesla.”
According to the letter, the group’s intention was to destroy the Gigafactory in its entirety, but the blaze was reportedly put out by the local fire brigade before spreading to Tesla’s property, according to Reuters.
“These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals,” Musk wrote on X/Twitter. “Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm,” dipping into German to punctuate his message.
The Gigafactory is Tesla’s first European manufacturing plant with about 12,500 employees. The company reportedly has plans to ramp up the factory’s production, which has the capacity to pump out around half a million cars a year. However, efforts to expand the Gigafactory were stymied after protests and a local election that blocked Tesla’s plan to cut down forestland in the area. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first reported protest attack on Tesla in the surrounding area. “We are shocked by what happened today. It’s the second direct attack on power supply to the factory and there was a third attack on the railway nearby. We are very concerned,” said factory head Andre Thierig at a press conference, according to Reuters.
“If a left-wing extremist motive is confirmed, then this is further evidence that the left-wing extremist scene does not shy away from attacks on critical energy infrastructure,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said at a press conference.
