"We stick together"

Cheers during Musk’s visit to German Tesla plant

Elon Musk gave his speech to the workforce with one of his sons on his shoulders.(Bild: APA/dpa/Carsten Koall)

Elon Musk flew to Germany on Wednesday to see the Tesla plant in Grüneheid (Brandenburg), which was shut down for days after a suspected arson attack on the power supply. The US billionaire was greeted by his workers with cheers and shouts of "Elon".

Production there restarted on Wednesday, with the first early shift since the incident reporting to work in the morning, according to a spokeswoman. In a speech, plant manager André Thierig thanked the employees for their handling of the situation. "This is an attack on the Gigafactory," he said. "We are all sticking together." Thierig also announced annual wage changes. "You can count on that." A collective agreement is not necessary. Thierig promised a bonus system and emphasized: "You are doing a great job."

A left-wing extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.(Bild: APA/dpa/Sebastian Gollnow)

"With the early shift, we are back to a full workforce and are producing again," he said in response to an inquiry. The employees are happy about the resumption of production, said works council chairwoman Michaela Schmitz on RBB-Inforadio.

Elon Musk gave his speech to the workforce with one of his sons on his shoulders.(Bild: APA/dpa/Carsten Koall)

The workers are also hoping for a commitment to the Grünheide site from their boss Elon Musk.(Bild: APA/AFP/Odd ANDERSEN)

Musk had one of his children with him
The employees are also hoping that Musk, who was accompanied by one of his sons, will show his commitment to the Grünheide site. In the days following the attack, Minister of Economic Affairs Jörg Steinbach (SPD) said that trust had been lost. According to the Minister, however, no negative consequences for the settlement are foreseeable. 

On Tuesday last week, previously unknown perpetrators set fire to a freely accessible electricity pylon in a field in East Brandenburg, which is part of the power supply to the car factory in Grünheide. The left-wing extremist Vulkan group claimed responsibility for the attack. The German Federal Public Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation.