Why is your alliance called „Tesla den Hahn abdrehen“ („Turn off the tap on Tesla“)?
The Tesla Gigafactory Grünheide already uses as much water as a city with 40,000 inhabitants – in one of the driest regions in Germany, where water is a scarce resource. For private housholds, water consumption has already been capped, and new construction projects, such as schools, cannot be implemented due to the water shortage. Even the responsible water board sees the region’s future water supply at risk. Despite this, the Gigafactory was approved – and even built in a water protection area! Any leak, no matter how small, could potentially lead to the contamination of the region’s entire drinking water for decades. Instead of independent close monitoring by the supervisory authorities and the local water supplier, Tesla is monitoring itself to determine whether there is a water hazard. Despite all the concerns, Tesla plans to expand its production even further in the coming years. Battles over water are already a reality today and will intensify massively in the future. We want to protect drinking water; people’s interests must be given priority over profit interests. For the region, this means: water for people and the environment, not for cars – turn off the tap on Tesla!
The Gigafactory is already there, so what’s the point of protesting against it now?
Almost 5,000 cars per week are already being produced in Grünheide, that’s around 250,000 cars per year. According to the permit, Tesla is already allowed to build 500,000 cars per year. However, Tesla wants to expand the plant significantly and has applied for an annual production of one million cars. That would be the largest car production in Germany! In the coming months, the municipal council will vote on a new development plan („B-Plan 60“). This plan is the basis for the purchase of further forested areas by Tesla for the plant expansion. That’s why now is the right time to join the resistance against the (e-)car madness and stop the expansion of the Gigafactory together!
Why are you against electric cars, aren’t they important for climate protection?
Internal combustion cars are climate killers; in order to combat climate crisis, their use must be massively restricted and new registrations must be stopped. Even the German government has recognized this and is pushing for a large-scale switch to electric cars as an alleged solution to the problem. However, what is being overlooked is that electric cars are also not a solution in the fight against the climate crisis! The extraction of raw materials and production, especially the manufacture of batteries, consume huge quantities of raw materials such as lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel, which are often extracted under catastrophic ecological and social conditions in the global South. A large proportion of lithium, for example, is extracted from salt lakes in South America, which consumes enormous amounts of water, permanently changing the water balance of entire regions and threatening the livelihoods of the local population. And here in Germany, water-intensive battery production, the construction of more highways and the sealing of surfaces for motorized private transport are driving the climate crisis forward. A mere shift from combustion to electric cars therefore offers no solution to the climate crisis – we need a real mobility transition!
The AfD also speaks out against Tesla, what do you think about it?
The AfD is miming opposition to Tesla on the ground. In fact, this party stands for car mania and speeding and fights against a mobility turnaround. At best, it rejects electric cars in favor of petrol and diesel vehicles and supports the fossil fuel industry. We take a clear stance against right-wing politics and Nazis. Our response is always anti-fascist and anti-racist.
Are you the wateroccupation „Stop Tesla“?
Tesla den Hahn abdrehen is not directly involved in the occupation of the forest, but shows solidarity with it. The occupation has its own website: https://teslastoppen.noblogs.org/en-GB/