WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - EV giant Tesla Inc. (TSLA) was forced to halt production at its Gigafactory near Berlin due to a suspected arson attack at a nearby power substation.
The attack, which took place southeast of the German capital, set an electricity pylon close to the site ablaze. However, the fire did not spread to the Tesla facility. Tesla's Gruenheide factory is located southeast of the German capital Berlin.
The Tesla site, which employs around 12,500 people, was evacuated and most employees were sent home.
Meanwhile, the facility is likely to be without power for several days and production is not expected to resume this week, Tesla's Berlin factory head said, according to Reuters.
In a statement posted to the social media platform X, Tesla said an arson attack on the public power grid was aimed at the company. It said no one was injured and it plans to 'restart the factory as soon as possible.'
'These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they're puppets of those who don't have good environmental goals,' Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X.
Meanwhile, according to CNBC, left-wing extremists Vulkangruppe, or Volcano Group, have claimed responsibility for the attack in a letter posted to Kontrapolis.
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