German police clash with protesters trying to storm Tesla plant

German police on Friday clashed with hundreds of climate protesters opposed to the US battery electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla expanding its plant near Berlin.

An estimated 800 protesters took part in the rally, according to the protest organizing group Disrupt Tesla, which says the expansion would damage the environment.

Reuters reported that protesters held banners reading “Disrupt Capitalism, Create Future.”

Video footage by the news agency of the rally in the vicinity of the Tesla plant showed dozens of leftist activists and climate protesters, all wearing blue caps and masks, coming from the forest and attempting to storm the factory’s premises with police officers trying to prevent them.

Several protesters who were injured in the clashes received medical treatment by paramedics and at least one person was detained.

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The town where the factory is located voted in February against the plans in a referendum that was not legally binding.

Climate protesters have been stationed in an encampment nearby since then and the factory in Grunheide was shut down for a week in March after suspected arson disabled its power.

A separate protest organizing outfit called Volcano Group claimed responsibility for the fire, calling for the “complete destruction of the gigafactory.”

Tesla, earlier this week, said it would shut the Grunheide factory for one day on Friday, without specifying the reason for the closure.

“Why do the police let the left-wing protestors off so easily?” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on his social media platform X. The billionaire noted the demonstrators had failed to break through police lines into the Grunheide factory.

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“We protect the freedom of assembly,” Brandenburg police spokesperson Mario Heinemann said, “but we are also responsible for public order and safety. That means we will also intervene when necessary.”

The police spokesperson confirmed that the protesters attempted to enter the plant’s premises, but were prevented.

Police said several people were taken into custody and there were several reports of injuries.

A few Tesla cars at a nearby car storage site had been damaged by protesters using pyrotechnics and paint, the police spokesperson reported.

“We are here today to draw attention to the Tesla factory in Grunheide for the environmental destruction here,” Disrupt Tesla spokesperson, Ole Becker, told Reuters.

The group also wants to highlight Tesla’s environmental destruction to countries like Argentina and Bolivia, brought about by lithium mining, according to Becker.

Lithium is a key resource for batteries used in EVs.

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