GERMAN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TO BLOCK OPERATIONS OF TESLA PLANT

Two German environmental groups took up further legal proceedings on Wednesday to oppose US e-car manufacturer Tesla's planned factory on the outskirts of Berlin, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

Billionaire Elon Musk's company has begun building the electric car factory near Berlin, dubbed a “gigafactory,” although final approval is still pending. Tesla plans to build around 500,000 compact Model 3 and Model Y vehicles there each year.

The groups Nabu and Gruene Liga turned to the courts in protest against the initial approval, which has allowed Tesla to begin construction. The date for a final decision on the site remains unclear.

The environmental groups filed their emergency application with the administrative court in the eastern city of Frankfurt Oder, their lawyer Thorsten Deppner told dpa. Previously, their application for the preliminary approval to be suspended had been rejected by Brandenburg's State Office for the Environment (LfU).

The organizations had talked with state environment minister Axel Vogel, but he had not dispelled their concerns, according to the Gruene Liga. The early approval involves tests of the functionality of equipment in the paint shop, foundry and body shop.

Meanwhile, the installation of tanks for wastewater treatment and the refueling system has already received approval earlier than planned. The state ministry underlined that this was not a trial operation.

Only small quantities of water-polluting or dangerous substances have been found, meaning the latest findings did not provide a reason to call the initial approval into question. The environmental groups called for the court to review this decision.

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