A German environmentalist group, Association for Nature and Landscape has filed “criminal accusations” against Tesla, accusing the corporation of “suspected water contamination and a probable environmental crime” at its Berlin Gigafactory.
It’s the latest chapter in a lengthy narrative of the EV maker clashing with environmentalists, who opposed the company’s massive vehicle manufacturing from the start.
Before all of this, the plant was not well-known in the neighborhood: Local neighbors lodged over 400 complaints to the construction in 2020, with protesters accusing the corporation of unnecessary deforestation and “taking our water.”
The environmentalist group has now filed three criminal charges, including the illegal ramming of 104 piles used to build out the Tesla’s parking lot. The risk, they argue, is that the penetration of the water table could contaminate the groundwater (and thereby the drinking water) in the area.
The group also accused the carmaker of starting a work shuttle station before it received the needed construction permits. But given Tesla’s strong relationship with local politicians in the area it’s unclear if these charges will amount to anything.
Sascha Gehm, the deputy district administrator of the region, called the accusations “bananas,” according to German news outlet Moz.de, arguing that no other company is as regulated as much as Tesla, adding that there has “has never been a threat to the groundwater in all this time.”
Reference- Electrek, Futurism, German news outlet Moz.de, Wired Report, Business Insider