Demonstrations against Gigafactory 4 in Grünheide temporarily stopped

Not everyone in Brandenburg was happy to hear that Tesla want to open its factory in Grünheide. Some people were worried about issues.

For the first time, Grünheid Mayor Arne Cristiani (independent) is present with Tesla's supporters. Until now, he has deliberately avoided demonstrations. But after a Friday Public Information Event with citizens, he had a “good feeling,” he says. He appreciates Tesla’s plan to settle in Grünheide, primarily because of jobs.

At an information event, Mayor Christiani reminds people that the area near Grünheide has been designated a commercial area for 20 years, and anyone who lives here knows that too. Also, according to Mayor, the future factory "is an opportunity to save young people here."

It should be noted that negative sentiment to questions about the Tesla factory was added by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) faction. AfD denies a man-made climate catastrophe, and also believe that electric cars are unnecessary, renewable energy sources are nonsense, and the development and activation of entire landscapes doesn't cause problems. Yet in Grünheide they hoped that they would gather together with the environmentalists. Shortly after it became known about Tesla's plans to build an electric car factory, AfD took a stand against the plant in the Oder-Spree area.

Member of the AfD parliamentary group, Hildegard, Vera Kaethner from Grünheide, demanded that Tesla is not a place for investors. Locals were very alarmed by these statements, it sounded very similar to the state economy of the GDR, and not to a free and democratic society in which free entrepreneurs decide where they want to invest their money.

Given this situation, the "Gelb gegen Gigafactory" Civil Initiative said it no longer wants to organize demonstrations against the plans of the American automaker. A forest walk announced on Sunday has also been canceled.

The representative of the initiative of citizens of Grünheid distances himself from AfD
rbb/Andreas Oppermann

The main reason for this is the fear of being in the right corner. Recently, demonstrations have seen an increase in right-wing tendencies, says speaker Steffen Schorcht. AfD is often associated with this. Tesla supporters hail distancing. Organizer Martin Hildebrandt said they were pleased to have the opportunity to engage in dialogue together.

In the meantime, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk tweeted a bit about Gigafactory 4. It became known that the manufacturer will not use the declared amount of water daily. This amount of water can be used rarely, only during peak loads.

Featured image: rbb/Marie Stumpf