ALBAWABA - Tuesday's power disruption at the European Gigafactory of Tesla, situated in close proximity to Berlin, resulted in an indefinite cessation of operations. In response to the incident, CEO Elon Musk described as "extremely foolish" a suspected arson attack in the area.
In close proximity to the Tesla facility, an electrical pole was set on fire as a result of the assault, which transpired to the southeast of Berlin. Thankfully, the fire did not spread to the Tesla facility, which marked the American electric vehicle manufacturer's inaugural production site in Europe.
Nevertheless, the occurrence has compelled the facility to suspend operations, with the closure anticipated to persist until early the following week, as stated by the organization.
As a result of the disruption, Tesla foresees substantial financial losses in the hundreds of millions of euros. Tuesday alone witnessed the completion of approximately 1,000 vehicles that remain incomplete, which has a significant impact on production.
Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin, the company's sole manufacturing facility in Europe, has faced a series of challenges in recent weeks.
Initially, production was halted due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the difficulties cargo shipments encountered while traversing the Bab el Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden as a consequence of the Yemeni civil war.
Furthermore, a significant setback was incurred by the organization due to the opposition expressed by the residents of Grünheide, the municipality in which the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin is situated, towards the expansion initiatives that required substantial deforestation. Furthermore, last week witnessed the participation of environmentalists in protests against the expansion project.
The ongoing closure can be attributed to a suspected sabotage operation targeting the power supply infrastructure. A high-voltage pylon connecting Steinfurt and Hartmannsdorf was reportedly torched by unidentified individuals early Tuesday morning, resulting in a widespread outage that affected approximately 2,000 individuals, including the Berlin Gigafactory.
In response to inquiries, Tesla reassured the public that the factory has been secured. However, the exact timing of the production resumption is still unknown as the organization awaits guidance from EDIS, its electricity provider. Concerns are raised about the potential consequences that the unanticipated disruption may have on Tesla's production schedule and overall operations.
Constantly vital to the organization's worldwide production infrastructure remains the Gigafactory in Berlin, a notorious facility for producing the Model Y electric vehicle. As investigations into the alleged act of sabotage continue, pertinent stakeholders closely monitor developments to assess the potential consequences for Tesla's operations in Germany and other areas.
