Germany's top prosecutor takes over Tesla fire investigation, suspecting terrorism
Germany’s top prosecutor has taken over the investigation into an alleged arson attack on the power supply of the electric car company Tesla near Berlin
BERLIN — Germany's top prosecutor has taken over the investigation into an alleged arson attack on the power supply of the electric car company Tesla near Berlin.
A spokeswoman said there is an initial suspicion that a terrorist organization may have been involved in the attack. In such cases, the federal prosecutor's office, the top law enforcement agency in Germany, is responsible for the investigation.
On Tuesday, production at Tesla’s electric vehicle plant in Gruenheide came to a standstill and workers were evacuated after a power outage that officials suspected was caused by arson. Tens of thousands of residents, nearby hospitals, nursing homes and a big logistics center for a German grocery chain were also affected.
Authorities in the state of Brandenburg, where the plant is located, said unidentified people were suspected of deliberately setting fire to a high-voltage transmission line on a power pylon.
A far-left organization called the Volcano Group said it was behind the fire and accused Tesla in a letter of confession of “extreme exploitation conditions” and called for the “complete destruction of the gigafactory," German news agency dpa reported.
The police believe that the letter is genuine and are looking for witnesses who can provide information about the incident and possible suspects.
While electricity for residents has been restored, Tesla is still without power and the company has said that the damage cause by the outage is in the millions. It may take until the end of next week before Tesla will have electricity again, local media reported.
Elon
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