On Friday, May 10th, a group of protesters gathered outside the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin, Germany, to demonstrate against Tesla’s expansion plans in the country. Some protesters clashed with the police as they tried to storm the factory, resulting in multiple arrests.
The “Disrupt Tesla” organization claimed online that 800 people participated in the protest, part of their “Disrupt Tesla Action Day.”
German police stated in a press release on Friday that the protest temporarily disrupted railway traffic.
The statement read, “The protest crowd marched through the forest towards Tesla’s office location. As protesters were near the railway tracks of Deutsche Bahn and some had entered the tracks, railway traffic between Erkner and Fürstenwalde was temporarily suspended.”
According to Reuters, police prevented protesters from entering Tesla’s office premises. It was confirmed that some protesters were injured during conflicts with the police, and several were arrested.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the German police on Friday in a post on X platform, questioning, “Why did they so easily release these left-wing demonstrators?” He also added that the protesters failed to breach the factory fence.
CNN reported that the “Disrupt Tesla” organization believes Musk’s plan to double Tesla’s production capacity at this Gigafactory will harm the local environment.
The organization stated that the expansion of the factory requires clearing extensive forest areas, which will further exacerbate local water supply pressures. They initiated a protest activity on Wednesday, planning to continue protesting for four days.
In light of the protests outside the factory, Tesla closed its operations on Friday and advised all employees to stay at home.
Brandenburg police stated on Wednesday that they were prepared to handle “large-scale” protest actions, indicating that they would receive support from federal and several state police forces.
The police said in a statement, “Typical destructive protests and criminal activities cannot be ruled out in such gatherings,” therefore, “the police are prepared for peaceful and non-peaceful protests. If criminal activities occur, the police will intervene decisively.”
In early March, Tesla was forced to shut down the factory for a week after high-voltage power towers supplying electricity to the plant were set on fire. Subsequently, a group of far-left activists claimed responsibility for the arson.
After weeks of layoffs, Tesla appears to have halted recruitment in North America.
As of the end of last year, Tesla had a workforce of 140,000 employees. However, in the past month, the electric car industry giant has continued layoffs, and recruitment in North America seems to have halted.
As of this Wednesday, Tesla’s website listed only three positions for recruitment in North America. These positions are all for joining Tesla’s manufacturing development projects in Texas, California, or Nevada, part of a seven-week training program promising the opportunity to transition to a full-time production assistant position at a Tesla factory.
According to archived versions of Tesla’s job page, as of May 1, over 3,400 recruitment positions had been posted in the mainland United States, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Even as of this Tuesday, Tesla’s recruitment website was still listing numerous positions.
On LinkedIn, Tesla posted 326 positions, with most job opportunities located in China, some in Europe, and at least one in the Dominican Republic. Only one position related to a manufacturing development project was in the United States.
Gizmodo reached out to Tesla for comments but received no response.