As of: March 1, 2024, 5:59 p.m
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An environmental activist stands on a tree house near the Gigafactory.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Environmental activists are preparing for a longer period in their protest camp right next to the Tesla factory in Grünheide.
The police are holding back.
The factory's wastewater is also causing controversy.
Grünheide - The environmental activists in the occupied forest near the Tesla factory in Grünheide near Berlin have prepared for a week-long protest.
“The longer the occupation lasts, the better,” said a spokeswoman for the “Stop Tesla” initiative on Friday.
The occupation of the forest in protest against the planned expansion of the Tesla site began on Thursday night.
The initiative called on other supporters to visit the camp and bring materials such as lumber, saws, climbing equipment and hammocks.
“We hope that more people will come by.” The dispute over Tesla’s expansion plans is also likely to continue politically.
Dispute over factory wastewater - No disposal stop for Tesla due to excessive values
Elon Musk's US company is also criticized because, according to official measurements, it exceeded certain wastewater values in Grünheide.
The responsible Strausberg-Erkner water association therefore met for a special meeting on Friday.
The result: Tesla does not currently have to expect a stop to its wastewater disposal.
However, the association meeting did not come to an agreement.
Rather, a draft resolution to stop disposal has been postponed, said the chairman of the association meeting, Henryk Pilz.
Why it was postponed remains unclear at first.
The mayor of the small town of Erkner subsequently resigned as chairman of the committee.
The US electric car manufacturer Tesla had previously warned the water association about stopping disposal.
“You are aware that stopping the discharge of the Gigafactory’s wastewater would lead to a stop in production at the Gigafactory.
Such a decision causes millions of dollars in damage every day,” the company said in a letter.
The left-wing faction leader in the state parliament, Sebastian Walter, criticized
Police hold back at the protest camp - but criminal proceedings are initiated
According to the initiative, around 80 to 100 environmental activists came together in the camp next to the electric car factory.
They built tree houses several meters high, stretched ropes between the pine trees and pitched tents.
The protest initiative wants to prevent the forest from being cleared for a Tesla expansion.
A number of the environmental activists, some of whom did not show their faces, also took part in protests in the Hambacher Forest or in the brown coal village of Lützerath.
The electric car manufacturer plans to build a freight yard, warehouses and a company kindergarten next to the existing 300-hectare factory site.
More than 100 hectares of forest will be made way for this.
Tesla's expansion plans were also rejected by a majority at a referendum in Grünheide a few days ago.
After the negative citizen vote, the municipal council is now expected to decide on the development plan in May.
The police see no reason to break up the tent camp in the forest, but are monitoring what is happening there.
“We continue to keep an eye on it,” said a spokesman.
The protest in the pine forest can continue until March 15, the police had decided.
Since the meeting was not registered, criminal proceedings were initiated for violating the assembly law, a spokesman said on Friday.
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The initiative said: “We are open to discussion, but will not allow ourselves to be pushed out of the forest.” This Saturday afternoon, a walk in the forest in protest against Tesla and a piano concert in the forest are planned in Grünheide.
When asked, Tesla has not yet commented on the protest camp next to the factory - nor has the community of Grünheide.
Demand to Brandenburg's head of government
The Grünheide citizens' initiative expressed solidarity with the protest and called on Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) to visit the camp and speak to the occupiers.
In addition to the planned deforestation, environmentalists also criticize, among other things, the mining of lithium for batteries.
They accuse Tesla of endangering drinking water and poor occupational safety.
“Clean cars are a dirty lie” and “Water is a human right” could be read on posters.
Eastern Commissioner: Consider protest when planning major projects
With a view to the resistance against large factories like Tesla, the Federal Government's Eastern Representative, Carsten Schneider, advises companies to advertise themselves to local people.
From Schneider's point of view, industrial settlements in East Germany are no longer a sure-fire success.
“I notice a change in East Germany,” said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency.
“In the past, practically every major project was welcomed as long as it brought jobs.
Now there is occasional resistance.
You have to take that into account when planning in the future.”
Criticism of Tesla's communication
The Berlin-Brandenburg business associations (UVB) advised the car manufacturer to adopt a more aggressive communication and information policy.
“It's a bit of an unusual strategy not to talk to anyone except the responsible authorities,” said UVB managing director Alexander Schirp on RBB Inforadio on Friday.
“There is a lot of room for improvement because you can send messages that have the power to convince,” said Schirp.
It is hardly known that Tesla did not receive “a single euro of funding” for the plant.
1,200 of the 12,000 employees - a tenth - were hired because of unemployment.
dpa