Elon Musk visited Tesla Giga Berlin a week after it weathered an arson attack, a power outage, and a production halt. Musk was welcomed in Grüheide by employee cheers, hinting that not everyone in the area wants Tesla out.
According to local media outlet RBB 24, Musk came for a short visit to Gigafactory Berlin. The outlet presumed that Musk wanted to see how Tesla Giga Berlin fared after last week’s arson attack.
Musk reportedly called for a staff meeting to speak with Giga Berlin employees. He offered words of encouragement and love to them.
Musk told employees, “They can’t stop us.” Then he said in German, “I love you.”
The words above were the only part of Musk’s speech that the media could hear. Shortly after his speech began, a factory vehicle parked in front of the media started playing loud music, making Musk’s words difficult to hear.
Giga Berlin’s plant manager, André Thierig, spoke directly to employees after Musk.
“This is an attack on the gigafactory [Berlin]. We all stick together,” Thierig said.
During his speech, Thierig mentioned salary changes for Giga Berlin employees, which include a bonus system. He emphasized that Tesla salaries are reliable and a collective agreement would not be necessary.
Last month, the residents of Grünheide were invited to vote on Tesla’s expansion plans for Gigafactory Berlin. The majority of residents who participated voted against Tesla Giga Berlin’s expansion. Regardless, local authorities still seemed to support Tesla’s plans.
Following the vote against Tesla’s expansion plans, a few residents and local environmentalists built treehouses in the forest near Giga Berlin to prevent the factory from expanding. Then, last week, the Steinfurt substation near Giga Berlin caught fire.
The Vulkan Group claimed responsibility for the fire, turning the incident into an arson attack. The left-wing extremist aims for the “complete destruction” of Giga Berlin.
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