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Police are investigating a damaged electricity pole in a field.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
A power pylon is on fire - this has far-reaching consequences for Elon Musk's Tesla factory nearby.
An already known group speaks out.
Grünheide - A power outage has brought the only European Tesla factory to a standstill - investigators are examining evidence of a possible arson attack.
“We have received knowledge of a letter of responsibility that we are currently examining,” said a police spokeswoman on Tuesday.
The authenticity is being checked.
The “Vulcan Group,” which is classified as left-wing extremist, accuses Tesla of “extreme conditions of exploitation” in an email and calls for the “complete destruction of the Gigafactory.”
After the fire on a power pole that caused the power outage, the Brandenburg police suspect arson.
The State Criminal Police Office began investigations.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck called for quick clarification.
“The attack on the electricity supply is an attack on our critical infrastructure,” explained the Green politician.
“This must now be clarified and punished quickly.
Violence and sabotage must not be a means of conflict.”
Production in Tesla boss Elon Musk's factory comes to a standstill after the power outage.
The company announced on request that the factory in Grünheide near Berlin had been completely evacuated.
All measures to secure the production facilities have been taken.
The company assumed that the power outage could not be resolved quickly.
There was a temporary power outage in several cities and towns.
The supply to the surrounding communities has been running again since late Tuesday morning, as the supplier Edis announced.
Exceptions are the Tesla factory and a logistics center.
According to the Interior Ministry, unknown perpetrators set fire to a high-voltage pylon near Steinfurt, a district of Gosen-Neu Zittau, early on Tuesday morning.
According to their own information, the police were informed about the fire in East Brandenburg at around 5:15 a.m.
The Firefighters put out the fire.
The electricity pylon was standing freely in a field and was not fenced in.
The police were deployed with helicopter squadrons, drone squadrons, operational units and service dogs, among other things.
Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) warned of a form of terrorism.
“It appears to be a serious attack on our critical infrastructure with consequences for thousands of people and many small and large businesses in our country,” he said.
“Attacks on our critical infrastructure are a form of terrorism.” The Federal Prosecutor General must take over the investigation if the suspicion of a terrorist attack is confirmed.
Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) assumed there was an attack.
“If the initial findings are confirmed, it will be a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure,” he said.
“This will have consequences.
Here, thousands of people were cut off from basic services and put in danger.” But he warned against hasty speculation.
Environmental activists protesting in a forest near the factory against the planned expansion of the Tesla site denied any connection with the alleged attack.
“We oppose the expansion of the factory with our bodies and tree houses.
“We are not putting any lives at risk,” said the Teslastoppen initiative.
Since Thursday, around 80 to 100 environmental activists have been occupying part of the state forest near the factory, which Tesla plans to clear if its site is expanded.
Tesla has been manufacturing electric cars in Grünheide for almost two years.
According to the company's most recent information, around 12,500 employees work there.
Environmentalists criticize, among other things, the fact that the site is in a water protection area.
In a citizen survey in Grünheide, a majority turned against the expansion plans.
Tesla also wants to expand production from the planned 500,000 cars per year to one million.
dpa