Enthusiasts want to hit the Tesla site in Grünheide

Protests against carmaker Tesla in Grünheide, near Berlin, intensified significantly on Friday. During the afternoon protest, hundreds of activists tried to enter the car manufacturer’s premises. They broke through a forest fence in the woods on the side of American businessman Elon Musk’s Tesla factory. According to the police, they did not enter the factory premises. It stopped with a large contingent including hundreds from several federal states. Water cannons and a purification tank were available, but were not initially used.

There were several clashes with the authorities. Police used pepper spray and batons. At least one woman was injured during the protest around the factory premises. It was not initially known if the police were also injured. Several people received medical treatment at the scene. According to the police, several protesters have now been detained so that their personal details can be recorded. The number of so-called detentions is in the single digits, a police spokesman said Friday afternoon.

The situation stabilized for a while in the afternoon. A police spokesperson said that a large number of activists went back to the protest camp on Nattu Street. According to a DPA reporter, there were repeated clashes with emergency services and isolated arrests.

When asked, a spokesman and a spokesman for various protest groups described the protesters as leaving the forest again on the spot. They criticized the “disproportionately harsh” approach of the police.

The starting point of the protests was a protest camp set up near the car factory in Grünheide. Activists have been staying in tree houses there since late February to protest the expansion and deforestation of the Tesla site. The police should ensure that wooden houses are removed. A legal dispute is currently underway. Since Wednesday, Tesla protesters have called for days of action against the automaker.

“A fight against this car factory is a fight against every car factory,” said a related agitation group on Friday. “So Earth will be our home in the long run, and we must be brave enough to creatively redesign this work. We must decide together whether to build buses, ambulances or cargo bikes here.

More actions by demonstrators around the Tesla factory are expected this weekend. A spokesman stressed that what police observed and experienced on Friday will play a part in planning operations for Saturday.

Tesla did not initially comment on Friday’s protests. No production at the plant on Friday. However, a company spokesperson had earlier announced that this was related to the post-Ascension Day bridge and not the demonstrations.