German Chancellor said Thursday he supports the controversial plans to expand US maker Tesla’s plant near Berlin.
Tesla wants to double the size of its Gigafactory in Grünheide on the outskirts of the capital.
It has attracted , including residents and environmentalists.
Earlier this month, for nearly a week after a cut power lines that were supplying electricity.
Tesla’s factory extension plans
In February, a nonbinding vote in Grünheide found that over 60% of local .
But the chancellor pointed to another US carmaker, Ford, which has had a plant for almost 100 years in Cologne in western Germany, saying the carmaker and the municipality managed to work together to achieve success.
“That’s why I’m in favor of further expanding the plant,” Scholz told Thursday’s edition of the Märkische Allgemeine newspaper.
Some people fear the expansion will contaminate drinking water as it is partly in a water protection area. Others are unhappy because it would involve chopping down nearby trees.
Sabotage at Tesla stop production
Tesla’s proposal to expand the includes plans to construct a freight station, warehouses, and a company kindergarten.
A claimed that it had carried out an attack on an electricity pylon close to the plant that caught fire, causing power outages in the factory and nearby towns earlier this month.
In the interview with Märkische Allgemeine, Scholz described it as “an act of terrorism.
“The police and security authorities must do everything they can to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said.
During a recent visit, Tesla CEO accused “eco-terrorists” of cutting the plant’s power supply as he .
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lo/wd (dpa)
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