The US electric car manufacturer Tesla suffered a setback when it voted no in a citizen survey in Grünheide about the planned expansion of the factory premises.
The clear vote of almost two thirds against is on the table. The municipal council is still deciding on the development plan for the expansion. The citizens’ vote is not legally decisive, but it has a huge impact.
Why does Tesla even want to expand its factory premises?
The factory in Grünheide was in the presence of the company boss less than two years ago Elon Musk been opened. Tesla already has plans for expansion and wants to increase production capacity from the milestone goal of 500,000 cars per year, which has not yet been achieved, to one million cars per year. Tesla needs sufficient logistics space for the expansion.
It is also about greater delivery security. Car production had to stop for around two weeks this year because parts were missing due to the uncertain situation in the Red Sea. According to Tesla, a freight station should provide more environmentally friendly transport that will relieve traffic in the region. For this purpose, the company is planning a company daycare center.
What is the legal significance of the vote?
No. In December 2022, the Grünheide municipal council voted with a majority to draw up a new development plan so that Tesla can expand the factory site by 170 hectares, which would involve clearing more than 100 hectares of forest. However, community representatives still have to decide on the development plan itself. The result of the survey is an important basis for the decision because it shows what concerns there are about the factory where it is based – even though 12,500 people now work at Tesla.
How is the state government reacting to the citizens’ vote?
The result has a great psychological impact. Politicians are also looking at this, because it is about the acceptance of major projects. Brandenburg’s Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach (SPD) is looking ahead. “I also see the vote result as a motivation for the community and Tesla to provide a conceptual answer to the concerns that have not yet been resolved in the next few weeks and months,” he told the German Press Agency.
Who decides whether to expand or not?
The municipality of Grünheide has the decision in its hands. Grünheide’s mayor Arne Christiani (independent) said after the vote that the rejected development plan would no longer be presented to community representatives in its current form. The community representatives will next meet on March 14th – but so far the expansion has not been on the agenda. The next date would be on May 16th. In addition, the state parliament’s finance committee would have to approve a sale of the area by Brandenburg’s state forestry company. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the state government had already promised Tesla the acquisition of another area in 2019 – subject to development plan law.
Are there comparable cases of a citizens’ vote in Germany?
In Bavaria, for example, things went the other way around last year. Opponents of a battery plant run by the German car manufacturer BMW failed in their attempt to prevent construction in September 2023. The citizens of the town of Straßkirchen in Lower Bavaria decided by a large majority in favor of the settlement. The citizens’ initiative against the construction, which would destroy around 100 hectares of fields, failed in a referendum.
Tesla critic: Vote is victory for democracy and nature conservation
Critics of Tesla’s expansion plans see a victory for nature conservation and democracy after the citizens in Grünheide’s clear no to the expansion of the plant. The voter turnout of over 70 percent shows that the issue is politically explosive and very controversial and that the community has been deeply divided since the appearance of Elon Musk, said the state leader of the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) in Brandenburg, Thomas Löb, on Wednesday. The Berlin-Brandenburg Water Board demanded that the citizens’ vote should be accepted and implemented.
Tesla’s expansion plans for the car factory have met with majority rejection from the citizens of Grünheide. After the votes were counted on Tuesday evening, two thirds voted against the development plan. The vote is not legally binding, but is considered an important basis.
The water board demanded that the community representatives now vote on the development plan at the next meeting on March 14th as planned and that the vote not be postponed to a “more convenient” time after the local and state elections. There must finally be transparency about the expansion plans as well as about “measured data on air quality and groundwater quality that only Tesla has access to,” explained Heidemarie Schröder from the water board.
The ÖDP Brandenburg rejects Tesla’s planned deforestation and factory expansion. “The expansion of the factory increases the risk of hazardous substances escaping even further into the forest area and thus increases the risks to the population’s drinking water supply,” explained state boss Löb.
Tesla defends expansion plans, but relies on cooperation
After the no vote in the citizen survey in Grünheide near Berlin, the US electric car manufacturer Tesla is fundamentally sticking to expanding the factory site, but is relying on cooperation. “We see that the citizens of Grünheide have concerns in connection with the planned expansion of the area,” the company announced on Wednesday.
“We are still convinced that the logistical optimization of the plant is a great benefit for the community. Based on the feedback from the last few weeks, we will coordinate further steps with everyone involved.” It is now up to the municipality to decide on the development plan procedure. The goal is still to shift a lot of truck traffic to rail and to generally expand the infrastructure around the factory.
Tesla’s expansion plans for the car factory were largely rejected by the citizens of Grünheide. After the votes were counted on Tuesday evening, almost two thirds voted against the plans. The local council still has to approve the development plan. The residents’ vote is not binding for them, but is considered an important signal.
Tesla wants to build a freight yard, warehouses and a company kindergarten on around 170 hectares next to the factory site. To achieve this, more than 100 hectares of forest will be cleared.
In premarket trading on NASDAQ, Tesla shares temporarily lost 0.69 percent to $192.43.
GRÜNHEIDE (dpa-AFX)
Selected lever products on BMW
With knock-outs, speculative investors can participate disproportionately in price movements. Simply select the lever you want and we will show you suitable open-end products on BMW
The leverage must be between 2 and 20
Advertising