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Tesla Inc. has been ordered by a German court to temporarily halt all site preparations for its first European Gigfactory after local environmentalists complained about the car manufacturing company’s plans to clear 92 hectares (227 acres) of forest land.
In November of last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the plans for his company’s newest Gigafactory in Grünheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg, Germany. Although a lower court in Germany ruled last week that Tesla was granted permission to begin clearing out the trees in preparation for the facility at its own risk, an environmental group appealed the decision.
The local environmentalist group, Grüne Liga Brandenburg, raised concerns that Tesla’s forest clearance could potentially pollute the area’s drinking water along with other issues.
“The Tesla plant has not yet been approved, and there is a legal requirement for an early release of the building specifications which clearly hasn’t been met in this case,” lawyer for Grüne Liga Dirk Tessmer said in a statement. “This ruling shows Tesla is not above the law.”
The environmental activist group also cited that the deforestation could threaten the area’s wildlife, specifically a certain vulnerable species of bat.
The higher administrative court of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg issued its temporary court order since it would only take approximately three days to clear the 92 hectares of land. By the time judges settled on a final decision, the deforestation would have been completed, rendering the verdict useless.
The court said it would not view the activist group’s appeal as “obviously hopeless from the outset.” According to the court settlement, “It should not be assumed that the motion seeking legal protection brought by the Green League lacks any chance of succeeding.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised Germany for its “engineering prowess” stating it was “part of the reason” his company chose to plant its fourth Gigafactory there. The other three are located in Nevada, New York, and Shanghai, China.
When contacted by CNBC, Tesla highlighted a portion of its website that detailed its commitment to “replant an area three times the factory plot, with mixed trees native to their habitat and the potential to become an old-growth forest.”
The court expects to announce its final decision on Friday.
