Tesla losing hundreds of millions of euros due to powercut

The US electric car manufacturer Tesla said on Wednesday that downtime at its suburban Berlin factory stemming from a production stoppage after an attack on its power supply has resulted in several hundred million euros in damage.

"This means economic damage in the high nine-figure range for us," said plant manager André Thierig.

The costs stem from the number of vehicles which cannot be produced during the power outage and therefore cannot be sold, Thierig told dpa. Tesla expects production to be cancelled for a few more days.

Perpetrators set fire to an electricity pylon in a field in Gosen-Neu Zittau near the Tesla factory in Grünheide on Tuesday, knocking out power in the factory, halting production and forcing the plant to be evacuated.

Tens of thousands of residents in the region also had their power knocked out from the incident.

A letter from a left-wing extremist group confessing to the attack was received by the German state police and judged "authentic," they said on Wednesday.

"We consider the letter to be genuine, authentic," said a spokeswoman for the Brandenburg state police.

The left-wing Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) said it had sabotaged the Tesla factory, accusing the company of "extreme conditions of exploitation."

Tesla plant manager Thierig estimated more than 1,000 cars per day would not be built and assumed that production would be cancelled for at least this week.

Tesla's Model Y is manufactured in Grünheide near Berlin - the only manufacturing plant the US e-car giant, which is owned by Elon Musk, has in Europe.

The cars sell for between around €45,000 ($48,900) and just under €60,000.

Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Wednesday condemned the attack and said it is a "crime" that must be solved.

It was "wrong in every respect and in no way acceptable," he said at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport before his multi-way trip to the United States.

Freedom of demonstration is a valuable asset but it should not be allowed to slip into violence, he said.

"I have the feeling that we have now reached a turning point, and it must not be taken the wrong way," said Habeck.

The economics minister for the state of Brandenburg, where the Tesla plant is located, said he spoke with Musk and described the multimillionaire as "matter-of-fact" in his reaction to the attack, a report in the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel wrote.

Jörg Steinbach and Musk agreed that nothing should be done that would benefit the perpetrators of the crime.

Steinbach said there will be no foreseeable negative consequences for the plant if the state government police and others restore trust in the location, which has certainly been damaged.

On Tuesday, Musk slammed the attack at the plant, his only one in Europe.

"Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm," he wrote on Tuesday on the platform X, which he also owns, using the German for "is extremely stupid."

Following the Tesla incident politicians and industry leaders alike are wondering how to better protect sensitive infrastructure in Germany.

"We hope that the security authorities in Brandenburg and Germany will think about how this can be secured," Tesla plant manager Thierig said.

The state government also announced its intention to strengthen protection, but emphasized that 100% security is impossible.

"Attacks on our critical infrastructure are a form of terrorism," said Brandenburg's Premier Dietmar Woidke, a Social Democrat (SPD).

"A left-wing terrorist group is attacking our way of life and economy with violence," said Jan Redmann, the state's opposition conservative leader from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party

But it is important now to identify and protect particularly sensitive areas - for example, the places where aerial cables go underground, he said.

"There are various concepts, whether you do this with fences, with video surveillance - drones are also being discussed."

Brandenburg's CDU Interior Minister Michael Stübgen wants to prevent sensitive infrastructure from being attacked again with increased checks and police patrols.

The state's SPD Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach also promised that the state would ensure greater security and take a close look at critical infrastructure.

"But it must also be clear to everyone at this point: In the end, you are not immune from a terrorist attack."