Environmental experts and activists have voiced concern over the destruction of almost half a million trees by Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin.
Half a million trees lost in three years
The automotive and energy company, which claims to be “Accelerating the World’s Transition to Sustainable Energy” is building a new gigafactory near Berlin. The development of the site has caused an estimated 500,000 trees to be felled across 329 hectares of land, over a three year period, starting in March 2020, according to satellite image analysis undertaken by environmental intelligence agency, Kayrros.
The company, whose website boasts of providing the planet with “the greatest environmental benefit possible” has already faced protests over the factory. The plant, which is supposed to become Tesla’s European crown jewel and recently gained German state approval to produce a million cars a year, has been the source of multiple diesel, paint, and aluminium leaks and spills.
Protests
Karolina Drzewo, part of pressure group alliance Turn Off Tesla’s Tap, said the factory was already to blame for grave environmental consequences and could lead to further problems, including further forest felling and putting drinking water in the area in jeopardy.
“In one of the driest regions in Germany, too much of the environment has already been destroyed,” she said, speaking to The Guardian.
Peaceful demonstrations as well as civil disobedience including setting an electric pylon on fire, have troubled production at the plant. The company itself has mostly refused to engage with the environmental criticism, other than to insist corrective measures around problems are being implemented.
News from the 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin Protests
— Alex (@alex_avoigt) May 11, 2024
We will see further actions by the protesters over the weekend, including at a former airfield that Tesla uses as a temporary storage facility for vehicles.
The police have not sealed it off so the activists can stay there. No vehicles are… pic.twitter.com/MMsDUufWUc
Can the damage be put in perspective?
But Musk, who some say appears to embrace controversy as a form of publicity and is not known for his diplomacy, has berated what he sees as the failure of German law and order and labelled those concerned by the problems as “left-wing protesters”. This is despite some balanced opinion at Kayrros.
The company’s chief analyst, Antoine Halff, notes that there are tricky equations to be considered when looking at the impact of Tesla and its ability to scale up.
“The Tesla factory in Germany has led to quite a bit of cutting down of trees. Of course, it has to be put in perspective,” Halff told The Guardian, pointing out that the trees now lost forever could be seen as offset if 2,800 internal combustion engine vehicles are replaced with electric cars such as Teslas.
Products linked to deforestation are due to be outlawed in the European Union in 2025, by regulations banning their importation. Of course, if Tesla’s products are made in Berlin, they will be unaffected by the import ban.
