Elon Musk faces environmental sabotage in Germany and social blockades in Sweden

Tesla’s European operations are in turmoil these days. While the factory in Germany was targeted by environmental activists on Tuesday, the workshops in Sweden have been on strike for several months.

Elon Musk chose Germany to set up his “Europe” gigafactory, a Tesla factory which opened in 2022 near Berlin. Since then, the number of automobile sales has soared and production targets are constantly increasing. The world’s second largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, behind China’s BYD, even wants to expand its site and double its production. But that’s without taking into account a very virulent local environmentalist opposition, which has just sabotaged an electricity pylon, shutting down the factory since Tuesday March 5.

At the same time, the brand’s employees in Sweden have been on strike since October 27. By refusing to sign a collective agreement setting a minimum wage for workers, Elon Musk has seen the movement spread across the country for four months. In this highly unionized country, other sectors are boycotting the brand as a sign of solidarity, the blockages have even crossed the borders of Sweden, reaching Norway, Finland and Denmark.

In Germany, a camp of environmental opponents set up in the forest adjacent to the factory

In Germany, the American giant’s only European gigafactory, located near Berlin, has been shut down since Tuesday. An arson attack targeted an electricity pylon. This sabotage, claimed by a far-left group, deprived the factory of power and therefore paralyzed production. The small group called Vulkangruppe in its letter of demand, attacks Tesla, “who eats land, resources and people”to produce, “6000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week”. The attack comes as the manufacturer wants to expand its factory to double its production and reach one million vehicles per year. The work would require the felling of around a hundred hectares of pine forest. Opponents believe that the project threatens to pollute the water table and jeopardizes the region’s drinking water supply.

For Tesla, the toll is heavy. The 12,000 employees of the Grünheide factory are technically unemployed. Production of the Model Y, the famous electric SUV, sales champion in Europe, is not expected to resume for several days. The American manufacturer estimates the damage at several hundred million euros.

Tesla is going through a difficult time, as its German factory has suffered setbacks in recent weeks. At the beginning of February, the group had to suspend its activity for 15 days, because of attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea which slowed down the supply of raw materials. Then, two weeks ago, the residents of Grünheide, the municipality where Tesla is located, voted against the expansion of the factory. And since last Thursday, these residents have been supported by around a hundred environmental activists, who have set up a camp 300 meters from the factory, with cabins perched in the pine forest to prevent deforestation.

In Sweden, Tesla circumvents the blockages and the movement runs out of steam

In Sweden, the strike is getting bogged down: the social conflict between some of Tesla’s employees and the American giant has lasted for four months, the longest social conflict that Sweden has experienced in 80 years. Today, only a third of the mechanics in Tesla workshops and dealerships are still on strike, and the boycott strategy which affects other sectors (electricians, garbage collection, mail delivery, etc.) is not bearing fruit. .

Tesla manages to get around all these blockages: the company is in the process of expanding its own repair shops and hiring new mechanics. As Danish, Finnish and Norwegian dockers no longer unload Teslas at ports, it has diverted its containers to transport the vehicles by road. It is also looking for another source of supply for its aluminum components made in Sweden.

A national model called into question

Some solidarity garages complain of having lost 50% of their income since they refused to repair Teslas. But there is a slowdown in the movement, and even if all these obstacles cost Tesla dearly and give it bad press, that does not stop it from working. Moreover, Tesla sales continue to increase.

However, the strikers believe that other measures are still possible, that the boycotts can extend further. The If Metall union says it has the financial means to continue for “years”. The shock is head-on: Tesla being opposed in principle to branch agreements, it does not want to create a precedent, while for the union, letting Tesla do this is putting the entire Swedish social model at risk. Moreover, this model based on collective negotiations remains popular, the strike still benefits from a very favorable opinion rate: 60 to 70% of Swedes say they support it. But for the American giant to sit down at the negotiating table, it would perhaps take a European, or even global, conflagration. Tesla clearly has the means to ignore workers’ demands.