Electricity flows again

Repair after attack really expensive for Tesla

The "volcano group" claimed responsibility for the attack on the Tesla plant.(Bild: AFP)

According to a media report, the cost of restoring the power supply to the Tesla factory in Germany is likely to have been more than one million euros. An extreme left-wing group claims to be responsible for the attack on the network.

The head of the regional network operator Edis, Alexander Montebaur, quoted this sum at a meeting of the Tesla task force last Wednesday in the Brandenburg state chancellery.

"The costly restoration of the supply was a great team effort by our employees, partner companies and authorities," Montebaur was quoted as saying by the German Press Agency.

Minister President: "Without any scruples"
Brandenburg's Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) described the attack as dangerous for thousands of households. "Without any scruples, not only the supply of a factory was damaged here, but above all thousands of households, including health and social facilities," Woidke wrote to Edis. The head of government thanked Edis for restoring the power supply.

On March 5, previously unknown perpetrators had set fire to an electricity pylon in a field that is part of the power supply to the e-car factory in Grünheide near Berlin. Production came to a standstill for almost a week. The left-wing extremist "Vulkan Group" claimed responsibility for the attack. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation.

Protest camp allowed to stay for the time being
A protest camp demonstrating against an expansion planned by Tesla has nothing to do with the attack, according to the "Stop Tesla" initiative. However, a court decision by the administrative court in Potsdam has brought some relief to the camp. According to an interim ruling on Saturday, the conditions imposed by the assembly authorities will not apply for the time being. The conditions have been suspended until the court has made a final decision.

Demonstrators have erected a tree house village in the forest.(Bild: APA/dpa/Christoph Soeder)

The conditions stipulated that the activists were no longer allowed to enter the tree houses due to safety concerns and had to remove the structures by Monday. The "Stop Tesla" initiative filed an urgent appeal against this with the administrative court. The court intends to deal with the application on Monday. According to a spokesperson, it was not yet clear whether a decision will be made.