Germany: Hundreds of activists try to storm the Tesla factory in Brandenburg

Protesters have interrupted production at the company's only European plant and oppose electric vehicles due to the use of lithium in the batteries.

Hundreds of activists stormed the Tesla factory in Germany. A group of protesters unsuccessfully tried to break into the first Tesla factory in Europe this Friday.  The factory islocated in the state of Bandenburg, almost 20 miles from Berlin.

According to Der Spiegel, a German media outlet, the police managed to stop the hundreds of protesters and made several arrests. There were an unknown number of people injured as a result of the massive assault on the Tesla factory.

Several days ago, Tesla informed its workers not to go to the factory due to the protests. For this reason, since Thursday production has been halted at this large plant known as the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. Since Wednesday, protesters organized several gatherings that threatened to break into the premises.

According to Der Spiegel, the protesters who were stopped by the police have since blocked off the roads around the factory. According to the same source, the police have a strong presence in the area and have means such as water trucks to repel the protesters.

The groups that have organized this massive protest oppose the production of electric vehicles. According to a spokesperson for the activists, quoted by CNN, "by producing an electric car, the consumption of resources creates a huge ecological footprint and therefore further drives the global climate catastrophe." Environmental groups are concerned about the environmental damage caused by the extraction of lithium, a key metal in electric vehicle batteries.