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Tesla's European Gigafactory, on the outskirts of Berlin, was abruptly brought to a standstill due to an arson attack. A group suspected of the incident is the Volcano Group, a far-left eco-terrorist organization.

CEO Elon Musk posted on X that "These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they're puppets of those who don't have good environmental goals." 

"Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm," he used the German words for "extremely dumb".

The disruption occurred early on Tuesday when an electricity pylon close to the Tesla site was set ablaze, leading to a complete shutdown of operations. 

The fire was quickly extinguished by a local fire brigade. And the blaze did not spread to the Gigafactory.

Tesla's Frankfurt-listed shares took a noticeable dip (2.8% 1308 GMT). 

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Volcano Group

The kontrapolis.info website published a 2,500-word letter, allegedly from the Volcano Group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The letter was a diatribe against Tesla and its visionary CEO Elon Musk. the group unleashed a barrage of criticisms.

The letter said, "We sabotaged Tesla." And described the attack as a gift marking International Women's Day on March 8.

"Tesla consumes earth, resources, people, workers, and in return spits out 6,000 SUVs, killer cars and monster trucks each week."

The letter was signed "Agua De Pau", the name of a volcanic mountain in the Azores. Authorities are still authenticating the document.

Eco-Terrorist Investigation

Law enforcement agencies swiftly launched investigations into the arson attack.

They are probing potential links to radical activist groups. Tensions were already high due to past environmental protests.

The area has been the scene of a series of environmental protests since Musk started construction two years ago.

The German state of Brandenburg has documented previous arson attacks by far-left activists. This includes Gruenheide in May 2021 where a Tesla power supply site was attacked.

More recently environmental activists occupied tree houses in the forested area in an attempt to stop the trees from being cleared for the planned factory expansion.

Reports claim that bomb disposal units were deployed following the discovery of a suspicious sign found by emergency services that reads "ordnance buried here".

Gigafactory Expansion Challenges

For Tesla, the arson attack represents, yet another, hurdle in its European endeavors.

January marked the first time the carmaker was able to produce 6,000 cars in a one-week period. But the production ramp-up is slowed for now.

Tesla has been trying to expand its plant. The current facility has a capacity to produce 500,000 cars a year. The company wants to double the site's capacity to 100 gigawatt hours of battery production. And to 1 million cars per year.

But the expansion plans were roadblocked by local residents voted down a motion to cut trees at the Tesla site.

Recent setbacks, including union pressures and supply disruptions, have also tested Tesla's presence in the region. 

The electric vehicle company seeks to revolutionize the automotive industry with sustainable practices but faces opposition from environmental groups.

 The Volcano Group's actions may have momentarily disrupted operations. And stakeholders grapple with the aftermath.

Local Brandenburg state Interior Minister Michael Stuebgen said, "If the initial findings are confirmed, this will be a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure." 

"That will have consequences. Here, thousands of people were cut off from basic services and put in danger," he said, adding that the state would react with the "utmost severity". He added.