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The German Tesla plant fire is claimed by far-left ‘Volcano Group’


The plant has been the target of ongoing environmental protests.

“We sabotaged Tesla today,” the group said, claiming the factory “eats up earth, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week.” The 2,500-word letter goes on to accuse the Gigafactory of contaminating groundwater and requiring large quantities of drinking water to produce electric vehicles, echoing similar concerns raised by officials from the local water authority near the facility in February. Plans to extend the German Tesla factory, which was opened in Grünheide in 2022, have faced major hurdles after locals voted against the expansion in a nonbinding survey in February this year. A 2019 report (pdf) published by German authorities says that various crimes have been committed under the Vulkangruppe moniker following a surge in arson attacks on cars in 2011, with perpetrators often using the names of Icelandic volcanoes as an alias.

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