German court orders Tesla to stop tree-felling at factory location
POTSDAM – A German court has ordered US electric car manufacturer Tesla to suspend a tree-felling operation it is conducting in an area near Berlin where it hopes to construct a factory.
The preliminary decision was handed down by a court in the eastern German city of Frankfurt an der Oder late on Monday (7) as a result of an urgent motion filed by conservation organizations NABU and Gruene Liga.
The decision reverses an earlier approval of the felling of 82.9 hectares of forest in Gruenheide, which is intended for the Tesla factory. Tesla has yet to comment on the decision.
The court said that further investigations into how the factory’s construction would impact local flora and fauna were ongoing. A spokesperson declined to give a specific date for a final decision.
Tesla plans to build around 500,000 compact Model 3 and Model Y vehicles at the factory each year.
-dpa