Emergency services were called early on Tuesday after reports of a burning electricity pylon southeast of Berlin close to the Tesla factory.

Tesla Berlin factory power outage

The halt was due to a fire, suspected of being arson, in an area near the Tesla’s Berlin factory. Left-wing extremists called the Volcano Group claimed responsibility, citing the damage from “killer cars and monster trucks.”

Tesla’s factory has not been damaged, the police said. Police said they have launched an investigation into suspected arson. Tesla said none of its employees were injured in what it called a reckless attack.

Environmental concerns

The sabotage of Tesla’s German factory by the far-left group, the Volcano Group, underscores the tension between environmental concerns and the expansion of industrial facilities.

Recently, environmental activists have been protesting in a state forest near the Tesla factory, which the automaker wants to clear to expand the site. That expansion was mentioned in the group’s letter, along with a broader critique of what it called green capitalism.

Why power outage at Tesla?

The power outage came as environmental activists have been protesting in a forest near the plant against plans by Tesla to expand. Dozens of activists have put up tents and built treehouses.

“With our sabotage, we have set ourselves the goal of achieving the biggest possible blackout of the Gigafactory,” the group said in a statement.

The group highlighted concerns about the environmental impact of the plant and its effect on the local water supply.

“We feel connected to all the people who won’t let Tesla turn the tap off,” the group said.

Musk on power outage

CEO Elon Musk criticized the move. “These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals,” he said. “Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm.”

Tesla shares

Tesla shares (TSLA) fell 3% in early trade. The automaker’s stock has dived by 24% this year.Tesla’s stock-market swoon has resulted in Musk no longer being the world’s richest person.

Outage affected villages

The blaze was extinguished, but damage to the lines knocked out power to the electric car factory, located in the state of Brandenburg, as well as surrounding villages. The outage also left about 2,000 households without power.

Electricity was restored after a few hours in the nearby towns and villages, but Tesla remained without energy and authorities said it would likely take several days to restore it at the plant. Tesla said it would resume production as soon as possible.

Tesla’s expansion plan

Tesla opened the factory in March 2022, launching a challenge to German automakers on their home turf.

The company wants to expand the facility to add a freight depot, warehouses and a company kindergarten. Those plans would entail felling more than 100 hectares (247 acres) of forest.

On going conflict between environmental activism and industrial development

Tesla’s factory represents technological innovation in the form of electric vehicles, which are seen as a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fossil fuel vehicles. However, the expansion plans for the factory involve clearing a significant portion of forested land. This raises concerns about habitat destruction and environmental impact.

The actions taken by the extremist groups highlights the extreme measures some environmental activists are willing to take to oppose industrial development they perceive as harmful to the environment. This incident brings attention to the ongoing debate over how to balance the need for economic growth and technological advancement with the preservation of natural resources and environmental sustainability.

The post Tesla’s Berlin Factory Halted after Attack by Extremist Group appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.

This was despite substantial price cuts of Tesla, and that he would wait for clarity on the economy before ramping up its planned factory in Mexico.

Slowdown of Tesla EV production

“People hesitate to buy a new car if there’s uncertainty in the economy,” Musk said on a post-earnings call where he also talked about “paycheck-to-paycheck” pressures on American workers. “I don’t want to be going into top speed into uncertainty.”

Musk’s comments, which sent Tesla shares down more than 4% in after-market trading, come after warning bells from other automakers and startups on EV production capacity.

Decline in EV production capacity of other automakers

GM said on Tuesday it would delay EV production by a year of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickup trucks at a plant in Michigan, citing flattening demand for EVs.

Detroit peer Ford said last week it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. The automaker in July slowed its EV ramp-up, shifting investment to commercial vehicles and hybrids.

EV startup Lucid on Tuesday reported a near 30% plunge in third-quarter production and only a marginal increase in deliveries despite big discounts, raising worries about demand for its Air luxury sedan.

Amazon-backed Rivian, which makes electric pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, also disappointed investors this month when it shied away from raising its full-year production forecast despite stronger-than-expected third-quarter numbers.

Dip in demand

“It does highlight that there could be a slowdown in EV (demand) in the near term,” said Tom Narayan, global autos analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “But it has more to do with pricing and affordability than a rejection of EVs.”

Narayan said he expected this to be a “dip” that improves as prices of EVs fall and lower-priced variants are available.

Automakers have billions of dollars in EV-related investments riding on how the next several quarters play out. Worries about slowing demand have been rising just as companies come to grips with supply chain constraints that wrecked production plans.

The U.S. market was not growing fast enough to prevent unsold EVs from stacking up at some auto dealerships.

Tesla price cuts

To prevent demand from waning, market leader Tesla, with industry-leading profit margins, has been the first and most aggressive in price cuts, forcing others to follow suit and squeezing margins.

But Musk said higher financing costs due to rising interest rates meant to fight stubbornly high inflation in some cases almost entirely offset the price reductions, making consumers looking to shift away from gas-guzzling vehicles wary.

“If interest rates remain high … it’s that much harder for people to buy the car. They simply can’t afford it,” Musk said on Tesla EV production. He added he would “accelerate” expansion of the Mexico factory if interest rates come down for Tesla EV production.

In the U.S this is not expected until June 2024, based on current market estimates, with recent robust economic data suggesting the central bank might leave interest rates higher for a bit longer.

The post Tesla Slowing EV Production, as Demand Dips, Joins Ford and GM appeared first on Industry Leaders Magazine.