Tesla staff shouldn’t suffer for Musk’s politics, says Brandenburg Minister

Workers at Tesla Inc. should not suffer because of Elon Musk’s controversial involvement in politics, Daniel Keller, the economy minister for Brandenburg, said in an interview.

Brandenburg is home to Tesla’s only European factory. Bloomberg reported that Keller warned against letting the company’s 11,000 staff pay for the chief executive’s personal views.

The plant in Grünheide, Brandenburg, makes the Model Y for more than three dozen markets, most of them in Europe. It employs about 11,000 people, many of whom live locally. Yet Tesla’s sales in Europe have dropped sharply since Musk began advising the Trump administration and publicly backed far-right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD) during the country’s election campaign.

“I can only urge people to distinguish between a very good product manufactured in Germany by 11,000 people, most of whom come from the region and work there and the political views of one of the shareholders of this factory,” Keller said, drawing a clear line between the plant’s workforce and its owner’s politics.

Musk’s actions on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January drew criticism even among Keller’s colleagues in nearby Berlin. Earlier this year, activists sabotaged a rail line near the Grünheide site and sprayed a Tesla showroom in Berlin blue, the AfD’s color.

Backlash against Tesla puts German authorities in a difficult spot

Across Europe, Teslas have been set on fire in Germany, France, and Italy in apparent protest.

Local officials had welcomed Tesla with open arms, hoping the factory would help revive Brandenburg’s economy. The state is one of several in eastern Germany coping with falling population numbers and a scarcity of well-paid jobs. In the small town of Grünheide, the plant has become Brandenburg’s largest employer, but the slump in Tesla’s European sales is stoking fears that its workers could pay the price for Musk’s divisive moves.

Company leaders, including Musk, now insist that operations are running smoothly. After a slowdown earlier this year for retooling the new-look Model Y, the Grünheide factory is back to its full pace of about 5,000 vehicles a week, said Alexander Riederer, who oversees business development for Tesla in Germany. He added that the company plans to double production and boost its logistics and battery-making capacity.

“What we’re doing right now is making preparations to be able to grow further at the plant,” Riederer said at an industry event in the German resort town of Bad Saarow.

Environmental activists argue it uses too much water and poses risks to local ecosystems. Earlier this year, some Tesla employees in Germany demanded better working conditions, citing heavy workloads and calling for more restroom breaks. Activists say their efforts to disrupt rail lines and other infrastructure are meant to halt the plant’s expansion.

Tesla opened in Brandenburg at a time when established German carmakers like Volkswagen AG and BMW AG were already feeling the pressure from new rivals and rapid shifts in technology. Volkswagen and parts supplier Continental AG have both cut back operations in Germany to save money and protect sales against cheaper imports from Chinese brands.

“The entire automotive industry in Germany is currently undergoing a restructuring,” Keller said on the sidelines of the Bad Saarow event. “I think we can be grateful that we have one of the industry leaders that is not stuck with old technology.”

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