dpa
Berlin
Tesla boss Elon Musik arrived in Germany on Wednesday for a short visit to the electric carmaker’s only European plant, located just outside of Berlin, about a week after an attack on the site’s electricity supply.
Production at Tesla’s so-called “giga-factory” in the town of Grünheide was brought to a standstill for several days due to a sabotage attack on the plant’s power supply.
A left-wing extremist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The previously unknown Volcano Group declared that it was responsible for setting fire to an electricity pylon that serves other businesses and residents alongside the Tesla plant.
Production at the Grünheide plant resumed on Wednesday.
Workers at the plant greeted Musk with cheers and shouts of “Elon” on Wednesday during the visit. He spoke to employees in a large tent on the factory premises at around midday on Wednesday.
After Musk, Tesla plant manager André Thierig also addressed employees and thanked them for their handling of the situation.
“This is an attack on the Gigafactory,” he said. “We are all sticking together.”
Thierig also promised workers changes in their annual wages and a bonus system: “You can count on that.”
He also argued that a union collective bargaining contract for the plant is not necessary.
Local officials in Germany had expressed worries that the attack on the Tesla plant might raise concerns at the electric vehicle manufacturer about long-term prospects for the site.
Plans by Tesla to expand the plant are controversial due laregely to concerns about the potential impact on nearby protected wetlands.
Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, also owns the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the private space flight company Space X and a number of other companies.
Environmental activist have set up a protest camp with tree houses very near to the factory, which police have announced they would only tolerate through this coming Friday. The activists have begun preparing for a possible police operation to clear the forest, which is on state-owned land.
Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, also owns the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the private space flight company Space X and a number of other companies.
