A high-voltage power tower near the German factory of American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc. was suspected of being set on fire in the early morning of the 5th, resulting in a power outage at the factory and production was forced to be suspended.
Tesla's German factory is located in Greenhead, southeast of the German capital Berlin. According to the local ** report, the fire department received an alarm at 5:15 local time on the 5th, and the fire has been extinguished and the fire has not spread to the Tesla factory. A spokesperson said: "We have a preliminary suspicion that this is a man-made arson incident and an investigation is underway. ”
A spokesman for Tesla Inc. said on the 5th that the factory had suspended production and organized the evacuation of employees. All measures have been taken to ensure the safety of production facilities, and it is not possible to determine when production will resume at this time.
The Greenhead plant is Tesla's only factory in Europe and currently employs about 12,500 people.
E.ON Energy said that the high-voltage tower** caused the power outage** in this area, and the staff is currently carrying out emergency repairs.
Interior Minister Michael Stibgen of the state of Brandenburg where the incident took place said: "Thousands of people have been cut off from basic electricity**, and the law will punish such sabotage." But he cautioned against "premature guessing" about who might be held responsible.
According to Reuters, in order to achieve the goal of increasing annual production capacity from about 500,000 to 1 million vehicles, the factory recently announced a plan to cut down trees in the surrounding area for expansion, which was voted down by local residents, and some environmentalists launched a ** campaign around the factory, and a spokesman for one environmental group said that he was not aware of the suspected arson. (END) (Li Yannan).