Suspected arson latest challenge for Tesla in Europe

Police work next to a damaged pylon after Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide near Berlin halted production and was left without power after suspected arson set an electricity pylon ablaze, near Steinfurt, Germany, March 5, 2024. Environmentalists opposed to the expansion of Tesla's massive Gruenheide car plant, near Berlin, Germany are thought to have been behind suspected sabotage on Tuesday that disrupted electricity supply to the factory and to parts of the nation's capital. The Reuters news agency said police heard about Tuesday's fire, which caused the plant to halt production temporarily, in an early-morning phone call from the suspected saboteurs. Germany's leader, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, hailed the facility as being at the "forefront of industry" but the plant, and Tesla in general, has been facing growing opposition in recent months, according to AP, with protesters setting up camps in the forests around the factory, from where they held a piano concert on Saturday and handed out cake to draw attention to their opposition.