Tesla cars set on fire in Berlin after threats by far-left group

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German police are investigating possible arson Tuesday after several Tesla cars were torched in central Berlin.

“Last night, unknown persons set fire to several cars in the Mitte district,” Berlin police said in a statement, adding that all three cars were Tesla vehicles that were parked on different streets.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the fires shortly after arriving and no one was injured, it said.

The incident occurred in a safe neighborhood, a few hundred meters from the headquarters of the foreign intelligence service, the BND.

It was the latest in a string of arson attacks targeting Tesla vehicles in Germany since a far-left climate group threatened in February to target Tesla cars and charging stations.

A statement from the group on a left-wing website claimed that Tesla has become a symbol of "green capitalism,” and accused the American electric car company of taking part in various military projects, and exploiting its employees, forcing them to work under extreme conditions.

“Tesla wants to further expand its Gigafactory in Grunheide near Berlin. We want to fight against this! We don't want any more Teslas on the streets!” said the group.

“The Gigafactory became known for its extreme exploitation conditions. In addition, the factory pollutes the groundwater and uses huge amounts of the already scarce resource for its products,” it added.