Tesla has been forced to suspend production and operations at its Giga Berlin in Grünheide, Germany, on Tuesday following a suspected arson attack, Kallanish reports.

The EV and battery manufacturing facility lost power supply after a nearby high-voltage electricity pylon was set on fire. The company confirmed it has completely evacuated the site and halted production.

According to local newspaper Handelsblatt, Tesla told employees to stay at home until further notice, adding that at this point was not possible to forecast when production would resume. The company expected the situation to be unchanged until at least the end of this week. Kallanish has contacted Tesla for comment.

The Brandenburg state police are now investigating a letter issued via the local media by so-called Vulkangruppe claiming responsibility for the attack. The group is classified as left-wing extremist. It accuses Tesla of “extreme conditions of exploitation” and calls for the “complete destruction of the gigafactory.”

The state’s prime minister Dietmar Woidke suggested the attack was a form of terrorism and should be investigated by the federal general prosecutor. He notes the power outage on early Tuesday has affected thousands of people and many small and large businesses in the country.

In a press conference monitored by Kallanish, officials from the Brandenburg government want “to make clear that the rule of law applies in this country,” and that perpetrators will be punished. They also said such attacks can affect the domestic economy, “as the damages caused to Tesla will have consequences for the entire economy of Germany and we cannot allow that to happen to companies that invest in Germany. Tesla but also everyone else trusts the rule of law not only supports them, but that it also protects them in the event of such attack.”

While power supply has been restored to most of the affected households and businesses, Tesla and a logistics centre remain in the dark, according to energy supplier Edis.

Commenting on his platform X, Tesla ceo Elon Musk said: “These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists on Earth or they’re puppets of those who don’t have good environmental goals. Stopping production of electric vehicles, rather than fossil fuel vehicles, ist extrem dumm.”