Elon Musk ‘cut down 500,000 trees’ to make way for vast German Tesla gigafactory, satellite images reveal – risking fresh row with eco-activists he branded ‘dumb’
- About half a million trees were cut down for the Berlin Gigafactory
- Analysis showed that this was equivalent to 13,000 tons of CO2
- The Gigafactory is already a controversial location in Germany
Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car company, is estimated to have cut down half a million trees during the construction of a gigafactory near Berlin, a new satellite analysis has found.
An analysis by environmental intelligence agency Kayrros found that 329 hectares (813 acres) of dense forest southeast of Berlin were cut down between March 2020 and May 2023. This equates to around 500,000 trees.
The amount of CO2 that trees absorb varies by species, but a mature tree absorbs an average of about 22 kilos of carbon per year. According to Antoine Halff, chief analyst at Kayrros, this means that the lost trees are equivalent to 13,000 tonnes of CO2.
Halff said: ‘The Tesla factory in Germany has led to quite a bit of logging. Of course, you have to put it into perspective, against the benefit of replacing cars with combustion engines with electric vehicles.’
Tesla boasts about its green credentials on its website, claiming that all electricity used at its Berlin Gigafactory, which opened in 2022 after work began in 2020, “will be supplemented by renewable energy sources by 2023.”
Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk (pictured), has cut down an estimated half a million trees during the development of a gigafactory near Berlin
Protesters have been trying to enter the Gigafactory for months (photo)
The Gigafactory is Tesla’s only European production center
It is estimated that about half a million trees have been cut down
The Berlin Gigafactory has been the scene of regular protests since May, after it became known that there were plans to expand the already controversial factory.
Environmental activists have occupied tree houses in a nearby camp and have attempted to storm the site several times.
A particularly enthusiastic group managed to shut down production for several days in March after setting fire to a high-voltage pylon.
Musk himself has criticized local police for not doing enough to combat the actions of “left-wing protesters.”
Musk himself has criticized local police for not doing enough to combat the actions of “left-wing protesters”
Tesla boasts about its green credentials on its website
A protester is seen bleeding as police officers restrain environmental activists during a protest against Tesla’s plans to expand its Gigafactory plant, in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, May 10, 2024
Environmental activists carry a banner as they gather during a protest against Tesla’s plans to expand its Gigafactory plant, in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany, May 10, 2024
Halff said the amount of CO2 lost by cutting down trees, the annual amount emitted by 2,800 internal combustion engine cars, is negligible compared to the CO2 saved by Tesla cars.
“That’s a fraction of the number of electric cars that Tesla produces and sells every quarter,” he said. “You always have trade-offs, so you have to be aware of the terms of the trade-off.”
But the Berlin Gigafactory, Tesla’s only production center in Europe, has come under fire for being the cause of many other environmental problems.
Earlier this year, German media reported that local water authorities had issued a stern warning to Gigafactory bosses that wastewater the company discharges into the nearby Spree River contained levels of phosphorus and nitrogen six times higher than permitted.
Tesla has pushed back against the allegations. The publicly traded company’s vice president of public policy and corporate development, Rohan Patel, claimed that Tesla recycles “up to 100%” of its industrial water and that Tesla Gigafactories use 33% less water per vehicle than the industry average.