Billionaire Elon Musk's plans to expand his colossal Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide on the outskirts of Berlin has attracted opposition from a remarkably eclectic range of protesters — and they don't always get along.
The factory has already sparked major concerns because of its water usage, and the threat of pollution it brings with it. Around 100 protesters have occupied the forest that the electric car company wants to buy from the state of Brandenburg, suspending treehouses between the pines and setting up what amounts to a mini-society in just two weeks.
This disparate collective of environmental activists, united under the banner "Tesla stoppen" ("Stop Tesla"), have largely found support from locals. They donate food to the camp, and even open their doors to protesters so they can shower and do their laundry.
Less welcome among this diverse group is the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), even though the party is the only one in the Brandenburg state parliament which opposes the expansion of the Tesla factory.
Steffen Schorcht, spokesperson for the Grünheide Bürgerinitiative ("Grünheide Citizens' Initiative"), which represents the local opposition to Tesla's plans, is annoyed that the organization he represents is sometimes publicly associated with the AfD.
"We're a very broad alliance of environmental protection organizations, climate activists, local politicians, scientists at the Technical University in Berlin and businesses, but from the start we've been confronted with the accusation that we were at least close to the AfD," he said. "Of course that's total nonsense. We distanced ourselves from the start — the people who work with us come........