From politics to climate clashes, turbulent time for Tesla in Germany

Few could have predicted the turbulence raging at US electric carmaker Tesla three years ago as its first plant in Europe opened outside Berlin.

Sales are plunging at the electric carmaker and protests are raging worldwide, and the mood is mixed at its gigafactory in Grünheide, in Brandenburg.

The carmaker, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has become a political lightning rod under the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Musk becoming a close Trump ally, his right-wing political views and his role as a cost-cutter in the US government have all been polarizing.

Alarm has spread due to the slashing of funding for government agencies by the US Department of Government Efficiency led by the Tesla boss.

In recent weeks, Tesla vehicles and charging stations have been smeared with swastikas in protest, and some cars have been set on fire.

Most recently, activists organized a day of protest against the carmaker, calling on owners worldwide to sell their vehicles and their stock.

But in Germany, Tesla plant manager André Thierig is confident.

“We have continuously increased production in recent years and now supply 37 markets in and outside Europe directly from the Gigafactory,” Thierig told dpa. “More markets will be added in the future.”

He says there are currently no plans to reduce the workforce at Tesla’s massive electric car factory in Grünheide, after 400 jobs were cut in 2024.

Thierig speaks of a “unique success story” at the site.

“As the most modern car factory in Europe, we have been producing the Model Y in Brandenburg since 2022. Since then, we have created over 11,000 jobs,” he says.

At more than €40,000 ($43,000) a year, the above-tariff starting salary at the site is significantly higher than the average income in the region, he points out.

Production has been expanded, Tesla relies on innovative processes and a wastewater treatment plant recycles up to 100% of the process wastewater.

Musk opened the plant in Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin, three years ago with a big show that drew hundreds of fans and even the chancellor.

Tesla is the largest industrial employer in Brandenburg, but looking back, those opening celebrations seem as though they are from another era.

Sales are falling, with the number of new Tesla registrations in Germany down again in February, despite an increase in the number of e-cars on the roads overall.

And when it comes to Musk, polarization is growing.

Data fromn Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority shows 76.3% fewer Teslas were newly registered in Germany in February (1,429) than in the same month last year.

In 2024 as a whole, the Tesla brand lost the most ground among e-cars and slipped from first to third place, although the Model Y remained at the top of the newly registered e-models.

“The Model Y was the best-selling car in the world both in 2023 and last year,” says Thierig.

The model has been completely overhauled, not just given a facelift, he says, dispelling what critics are saying.

After a brief interruption in production, production of the new Model Y began in February. “It will of course take some time before we are back up to our usual production volume,” he says. It is only natural that there will be a short-term gap in registration figures during the changeover, Thierig adds.

But the sales drop is not likely to end soon if you ask car industry observer Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of Germany. “The models offer little in the way of innovation and are too expensive,” Dudenhöffer told dpa. Tesla needs more innovations. In his view, the car manufacturer is almost a one-model manufacturer with the Model Y.

Plus, he says, “Elon Musk has become a non-person. Then the Tesla brand suffers too.”

While many worldwide are protesting about Musk, in Germany, his political activities have caused deep dismay.

Musk publicly backed the far-right Alternative for Germany party during the German parliamentary election campaign and held a conversation with AfD leader Alice Weidel on his online platform X, while snubbing and insulting Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Musk also took part in an AfD election campaign event via video and criticized Germany for placing “too much focus on past guilt” ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi extermination camp.

Activists projected a large picture of Musk onto the façade of the Tesla factory in Grünheide in January, showing the tech billionaire making a gesture resembling a Hitler salute as Trump was sworn in.

Then rail services were disrupted in February due to an arson attack on a railway line in Berlin-Schöneweide.

Four Teslas were allegedly set on fire in Berlin in March. That came after an attack last year on the power supply to the Tesla plant, interrupting production for almost a week.

Last May, environmental activists tried to storm the Tesla site, with anger over the environment preceeding the latest concerns about the carmaker.

There was fierce criticism at the opening of the site three years ago, with environmentalists accusing Tesla of endangering water resources. There were major protests over plans to expand the Tesla site due to the clearing of forestland to make space for a freight depot.

Tesla countered that water consumption has decreased and is lower than the industry average, and that the freight depot reduces the pressure on roads.

Plus there have been accusations of a failure to protect occupational health and safety, charges Tesla denies.

After some nine months, a protest camp in the forest near the Tesla factory was dispersed last November — but protests continue.

On the third anniversary of the opening of the plant, conciding with World Water Day, a group called turn the tap off at Tesla (Tesla den Hahn abdrehen) demanded better conservation efforts to prevent the pollution of water sources.

The Association for Nature and Landscape in Brandenburg — a citizens’ initiative against Tesla — wants to award a new negative environmental prize “The Dirty Drop” — in its first year. They want to give the prize partly to the Social Democrat party in the state of Brandenburg for permitting Tesla to set up in a water protection area and the other half to Tesla in Grünheide for allegedly endangering the water protection area.

On top of that come labour potests.

Within the company, conflict is smouldering with the IG Metall trade union which says Tesla often questions employee sick notes retroactively as a first step, according to business newspaper Handelsblatt.

Tesla argues this applies to around a dozen cases.

Tesla has also rejected a collective labour agreement and at a recent works meeting in Grünheide, IG Metall presented Tesla with a petition of some 3,000 signatures calling for longer breaks, more staff and more respect.

Tesla meanwhile presented the results of an internal online survey of all 11,000 employees, in which around 7,500 took part. Some 80% said they were satisfied with their workplace, while 5% said they were negative and the remainder were neutral.

But with the pace of change in the US and impact worldwide, there doesn’t appear to be a brake on the broader situation affecting the company.