Overnight fire at Tesla gigafactory site in Germany under investigation

An overnight fire at the construction site for the Tesla gigafactory in Germany is under investigation after a letter from far-left activists took credit for it.

The fire was started early Wednesday morning at Gruenheide, according to a spokesperson for the LKA state criminal investigation office, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson told Reuters that power cables going to the construction site were damaged.

The activists took credit for the fire saying “Tesla is neither green, ecological nor social,” the spokesperson told Reuters.

The group said they set fire to six cables above the ground so they could cut off the power supply to the construction site for the gigafactory that is set to open in late 2021.

The spokesperson for LKA said they are investigating the letter and have not ruled arson out.

The factory had to go through a long approval process after environmentalists tried to stop it because of concerns about water resources, Reuters noted.

Tesla cars are marketed as environmentally friendly since they have little impact on carbon emissions due to the cars using electricity and not gas. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said he would consider expanding the manufacturing of the vehicles to Russia.