Grünheide: Tesla factory protesters clash with police in Germany

Police confirmed that protesters who tried to enter the facility were prevented from doing so, with several people taken into custody.

Tesla said earlier this week that the site would be closed for the day due to the demonstration, with employees reportedly allowed to work from home.

In a post on his social media platform X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also said the group did not manage to break into the facility.

“Why do the police let the left-wing protesters off so easily?” Musk wrote in another post.

The Disrupt Tesla group had been calling for mass protests against the expansion to take place between 8 and 12 May.

Speaking to Reuters news agency on Friday, Ole Becker, a spokesman for Disrupt Tesla, said the protesters aimed to draw attention to the “environmental destruction” in Grünheide.

Some activists have occupied part of the forest expected to be cleared for the expanded factory for months, building tree houses and erecting signs in opposition.

Known as the Gigafactory, the facility currently employs an estimated 12,000 people and makes around 500,000 cars a year.

Production had to be briefly halted in March after a power outage was triggered by a suspected arson attack.

The far-left activist group known as Volcano Group claimed responsibility.