We have many good reasons to be against Tesla

Tesla wants to double the size of the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. Over 100 hectares of forest in a drinking water protection area are to be cleared for this purpose. There are many problems with this:

Water – drinking water Before Profits

Tesla is stealing people’s drinking water and forests. The Gigafactory consumes as much water as a small town. In a protected area, the Gigafactory means above all a giga-threat to drinking water.
In one of the driest regions in Germany, this means rationing drinking water for local residents and an increased risk of forest fires. This clearly shows how resources are distributed under capitalism when they become scarce: The profit interests of billionaires like Elon Musk and corporations like Tesla are put before the interests of us all. It must be clear: Groundwater is first and foremost our drinking water!

Working conditions – Tesla doesn’t care about people, but we do

Elon Musk doesn’t give a damn about the workers. Profit is more important to Tesla than the health of the workers. An above-average number of accidents at work and high sickness rates are the result of massive production pressure and poor occupational health and safety. We oppose the exploitation of people in the Gigafactory. We show solidarity with the workers in Sweden who are opposing Tesla’s exploitation by going on strike. We are also encouraged by the workers who are organizing here and fighting for their rights together.

Resource extraction and colonial exploitation – for a climate-just future

The production of electric cars is causing water crises and social injustice worldwide. Raw materials such as cobalt and lithium are used in the batteries of electric cars. Cobalt, for example, is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under catastrophic working conditions. Indigenous communities in Chile and Argentina, for example, are losing their water access and habitats due to lithium mining.
The climate crisis is a global catastrophe. We must not rely on companies like Tesla that endanger and exploit people and nature worldwide. Only together can we fight for a climate-friendly future.
We stand in solidarity with the anti-colonial struggles being waged by people on the ground!

Mobility turnaround – in a social-ecological way

E-cars are a false solution. Tesla e-SUVs are also driving the climate catastrophe. We cannot rely on companies to solve the climate crisis, because companies are always concerned with profit. We are concerned with climate protection and social justice. Not everyone can afford a car, yet mobility is a basic need that we all have. We are committed to a socio-ecological mobility transition. This means: expanding bus and rail services instead of promoting overpriced luxury cars.
The “Wir fahren zusammen” campaign is a great example of how transport company employees are fighting together with people from the climate movement.

Countering the fairy tale of green capitalism

In capitalism, the interests of corporations are placed above the needs of people – this is also evident here in Grünheide. At the expense of our water security, the climate and exploited workers here and in the Global South, the car industry is being painted green and the richest person in the world is getting even richer.

A social and climate-friendly future is not possible under capitalism. Unfortunately, even a few possibly slightly less bad e-cars won’t help. Because still bad is simply not good. And what we need is a world in which a good life is possible for everyone.

Against a right-wing billionaire

Elon Musk is dangerous. His huge corporate empire gives him the power to attack democratic processes. Musk exploits the workers at Tesla and actively prevents the formation of trade unions. Since buying Twitter, Musk has given free rein to conspiracy theories and right-wing narratives and fueled them himself. He has extensive connections to fascists and is an avowed supporter of the AfD.
Anyone who demonstrates against right-wing pressure and fascism must also show a clear stance against Elon Musk.

Alliance – Turning off the tap on Tesla (Tesla den Hahn abdrehen)

The interventionist left, Sand im Getriebe, Wald statt Asphalt, XR, Verein für Natur und Landschaft Brandenburg, solidarisches Potsdam, LEA, aap-Berlin and Wassertafel (inter alia) are all part of the alliance.
The alliance also has a Telegram channel.

Disrupt Action Days

The anti-capitalist action alliance DISRUPT is planning days of action against Tesla from May 8-12, 2024. Groups such as EndeGelände, the interventionist left and Sand im Getriebe are part of the alliance.

Bürger*inneninitiative

A non-partisan citizens’ initiative against the Gigafactory Grünheide by residents of Grünheide, Erkner and the surrounding area.

The “Water Table” (Wassertafel)

The Berlin-Brandenburg Water Table has been campaigning for the protection of groundwater for decades. The Berlin counterpart is the Berliner Wassertisch.