Activists protesting against an expansion of Tesla's electric car factory near Berlin said they want to warn of dangers to the environment, but also criticized other car manufacturers at a press conference on Saturday.
"It doesn't matter if it's Tesla, VW or Mercedes - car companies and their political supporters are responsible for selling out our lifeblood," said the spokeswoman of the Disrupt Tesla group, Lucia Mende, ahead of a planned demonstration. "We must prevent this and we will prevent it," she added.
A citizens' initiative in Grünheide, where US tech billionaire Elon Musk has built his only European Tesla factory, accused the US e-car company and the Brandenburg state government of not paying enough attention to the interests of the people in the region.
"They are going through with it, they are not listening to the sensitivities of the local people," said spokesman Steffen Schorcht. "It only serves the interests of Tesla."
He showed understanding for the protests. "If you're fighting and keep hitting a wall and don't know what else to do, then sometimes the only thing left is civil disobedience."
Another alliance is centred on concerns about the water supply.
"Tesla's luxury cars pollute and consume scarce drinking water worldwide," said spokeswoman Karolina Drzewo. She criticized the fact that a planned expansion of the plant was due to go ahead, although the majority of citizens had voted against it in a survey in Grünheide.
The alliance is calling for a move away from "inefficient and climate-damaging individual transport."
Tesla has been producing electric cars in Grünheide since 2022. The company has always rejected such accusations, claiming that water consumption has fallen and is below the industry average.
The activists were planning to demonstrate against the Tesla plant in the afternoon. On Friday, activists had attempted to enter the site but police prevented them.
Local police were braced for the further protest action on Saturday.
"We are sensitized," said a police spokesman. The situation had been calm during the night and in the morning, he added.
On Friday, there were repeated clashes between protesters and police officers as activists tried to enter the site. The police used pepper spray and batons. According to the police, several participants in the protests and 21 police officers were injured. Sixteen people were taken into custody.
The Grünheide protests are directed against Tesla's planned expansion which is to include a freight depot and would require forest to be cleared, as well as criticizing the production of electric cars in general.
Following the public consultation in Grünheide, in which a majority voted against the expansion, the municipality and Tesla signalled that less forest should be cleared.
Activists have set up a protest camp near the car plant, occupying tree houses there since late February. The US carmaker had to stop production at the Grünheide factory for a few days in March after an arson attack on an electricity pylon. A left-wing extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
