Tesla holds ‘Giga-Fest’ at disputed German factory – MENAFN.COM

Tesla holds ‘Giga-Fest’ at disputed German factory – MENAFN.COM

Invited guests queue in front of the entrance for a party with county fair and factory tour on the construction site of Tesla's electric car factory in Gruenheide yesterday. (Reuters) (MENAFN- Gulf Times) With a big wheel, music and an appearance by CEO Elon Musk, Tesla pulled out all the stops yesterday to win over opponents of the electric carmaker's controversial new"gigafactory" near Berlin. Thousands of people were brought in by special shuttle buses, with long queues forming at the Gruenheide site of the US electric vehicle maker's first European factory. "I wanted to take a look. Tesla's a great, very innovative car manufacturer," said 25-year-old local resident Dominic, an engineer. Construction at the plant had begun under an exceptional procedure granted by authorities two years ago, but opposition from locals over environmental concerns has held up final approval. Demonstrators were already on the scene yesterday morning, with a few people bearing signs like"Stop Tesla" and"water and forest aren't for private profit" gathered around 100m from the site. "It's unbelievable that you can build a factory like this without permission," said 69-year-old local activist Gurdrun Luebeck. Despite the local resistance, construction has been completed in double-quick time, replacing a swathe