Tesla's electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Germany has been evacuated following a fire in the battery pack manufacturing area.
According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the electric vehicle manufacturer's factory in Grünheide, near Berlin, reported a fire earlier this week.
Areas of the factory have reportedly been restricted since Monday, August 18, after a fire broke out "in a building where employees manufacture battery packs".
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A spokesperson for the Oder-Spree district confirmed that Tesla had reported the accident to authorities.
A fire was reported at Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory earlier this week
|REUTERS
Initial reports were first made at around 3pm on Monday as a result of a fire "in the battery pack production area".
The spokesperson added: "Some battery cells had fallen from a conveyor belt on the first floor down to the ground floor through a conveyor shaft," Handelsblatt reported.
The newspaper added that only firefighters and cleaning crews were allowed access to the building when the fire was first identified.
While the fire took several hours to extinguish, there were no injuries or environmental damage.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Gigafactory is Tesla's first manufacturing plant in Europe and was opened by CEO Elon Musk in March 2022.
Tesla describes the production facility as the brand's "most advanced, sustainable and efficient facility yet".
Earlier this year, the factory celebrated an impressive milestone with the development of its 500,000th Model Y, just days after its third anniversary.
Tesla is expected to increase the capacity of its Giga Berlin site in the coming years, which could see one million electric cars produced every year.
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Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory has been the target of multiple protests in recent years
| REUTERSDespite being Tesla's first European factory, it has been met with sharp criticism from locals, with protests outside the factory becoming a common occurrence.
Environmental protests were seen last year after satellite analysis showed that 500,000 trees had been felled ahead of the factory's expansion.
The Grünheide factory was also the subject of a suspected arson attack in March last year, which caused the factory to lose power for six days.
Police reported that an arson attack could have impacted a nearby electricity pylon, forcing delays at the Berlin factory.
A Tesla Takedown protest outside a dealership in Berlin | REUTERSTesla described the attack as "terrorism" and said it would not allow "criminal offences" to deter the mission of transitioning to cleaner vehicles.
The Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group) claimed responsibility for the attack and promised to continue its action against Tesla in a 2,500-word manifesto.
The group sent "love and strength to all Antifas", noting that "no Tesla in the world should be safe from our flaming rage".
Following the attack, Elon Musk posted on social media site X, branding those responsible as "the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth".