Starting next year, General Motors customers will have access to around 12,000 Tesla charging stations, as the largest US carmaker announced in Detroit on Thursday (local time). Tesla’s charging technology is becoming more and more popular. GM boss Mary Barra spoke of a step that could bring the industry to a uniform charging standard in North America.
In May, the e-car pioneer from star entrepreneurs Elon Musk already decided on a similar cooperation with the second largest US manufacturer Ford (Ford Motor). The partnership between GM and Tesla was well received by investors – both shares reacted with significant price gains after the trading day. GM customers will initially need an adapter to tap Tesla’s supercharger with their electric cars. From 2025, GM wants to align new vehicles with Tesla technology.
Tesla is looking for water itself – dispute over drilling
The US electric car manufacturer Tesla is looking for new water sources in dry Brandenburg and is thus causing criticism. Tesla wants to finance the exploration in Braunsdorf in order to gain insights into funding opportunities for groundwater resources in the region, the company said on Friday on request. “We assume that the power pump test will start in the summer of this year and be completed in the autumn of this year.” According to the Oder-Spree district in Lebbin, further exploration by Tesla is planned. Both are south-east of Berlin. If successful, Tesla would first have to submit an application for the withdrawal of drinking water. Stern and RTL reported on Friday about the plans and criticism.
According to the State Environment Agency, every water supplier or industrial company in Brandenburg can check their own water supply options. If successful, they can apply to the responsible water authority for a permit, which is followed by a permitting process. The priority of the public water supply is also taken into account, said spokesman Thomas Frey. The State Environment Agency is only responsible for the water law permit for groundwater withdrawals from 2000 cubic meters per day, the authorities of the districts or urban districts for withdrawals below that.
The left-wing faction in the Brandenburg state parliament and the regional water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE) see the water supply of the population in the region at risk. “Since everyone has access to the same water supply, this is at the expense of the general public,” warned left-wing environmental politician Thomas Domres. “The water supply must remain under public control and in public hands.”
WSE boss André Bähler warned against bypassing the interests of public services for a commercial settlement. The association supplies around 170,000 people and the Tesla factory. However, the State Environment Agency pointed out that it does not have to be involved in drilling for exploring water – the districts and independent cities are responsible for this.
Tesla wants to expand the plant and double the capacity to one million cars a year. The goal of the first expansion stage – 500,000 cars per year – has not yet been reached. Conservationists have concerns because part of the factory is located in a water protection area. In addition, Brandenburg suffers from drought. However, the company is not planning any additional water for the expansion and had already saved water so far.
Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) had promised Tesla boss Elon Musk support for the supply of water and electricity when expanding the factory. Woidke wrote to him in March that the state government wanted to support Tesla in finding a suitable solution to both problems before the summer. Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) told the German Press Agency: “There was never a commitment, either verbally or in writing, from any member of the state government”.
According to the Oder-Spree district, Tesla’s application for water exploration states that the lasting success in Grünheide should be supported by the development of previously unused water resources. That is why Tesla is striving for its own investigations, analogous to the tests carried out by the Ministry of the Environment in Hangelsberg. As a private company, Tesla can implement this faster than the public sector. According to the Ministry, a groundwater supply of drinking water quality was found in Hangelsberg after preliminary investigations.
Tesla isn’t the only company looking for water sources. In 2022, for example, the district of Märkisch-Oderland approved exploratory drilling in a planned commercial area in Altlandsberg and in March of this year the construction of a service water well in Vogelsdorf, reports Stern and RTL.
GM shares are temporarily up 1.17 percent on the NYSE in US trading at $36.27. Tesla shares are up 3.82 percent on the NASDAQ to $243.83.
DETROIT/GRÜNHEIDE (dpa-AFX)
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
No data
More news about General Motors
Image sources: Denise Kappa / Shutterstock.com, Linda Parton / Shutterstock.com