Musk’s AfD endorsement fuels Tesla backlash in German factory town
4 Min Read
Elon Musk's endorsement of Germany's far-right AfD and his controversial behavior have intensified public backlash in Grünheide, where Tesla's struggling Gigafactory now faces growing local opposition, declining morale, and environmental criticism.
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A protester holds a placard during a Tesla Takedown Global Day protest in front of a Tesla dealership in Berlin, on March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Elon Musk's vocal support for Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has intensified public outrage in Grünheide, the small town southeast of Berlin that hosts Tesla's European Gigafactory. Once seen as a symbol of green innovation and economic revival, the project is now under fire from residents and workers disturbed by both the plant's impact on their environment and Musk's political affiliations.
Manu Hoyer, a local resident and co-founder of a citizens' group opposing the Gigafactory, wrote directly to Brandenburg state premier Dietmar Woidke after Musk urged Germans to vote for the AfD.
"How can you do business with someone who supports rightwing extremism?" she asked. Woidke dismissed the concern, claiming he didn't know Musk personally, an answer Hoyer described as "disappointing, but predictable."
Factory fallout
Originally, the opposition movement focused on the factory's environmental cost: large swathes of pine forest cut down, threats to the region's fragile groundwater supply, and increased light pollution. But since Musk appeared to mimic a Nazi salute following Donald Trump's inauguration, alarm over his political behavior has eclipsed those earlier concerns. "It is no longer possible to ignore their association," one factory worker told Berliner Kurier, after activists projected the salute and the word "heil" onto the Gigafactory's exterior.
Inside the factory, morale appears to be deteriorating. One anonymous post on the employee review site Kununu states: "The brand once stood for cosmopolitanism, progress, and tolerance, but now it stands for the exact opposite. That bothers almost everyone here, and you can feel it."
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Declining sales have only made matters worse. Tesla's European sales have been falling for five straight months, despite overall growth in the electric vehicle market. As demand for the Model Y shrinks, Tesla has cut production shifts from three to two daily. Trade union IG Metall has called on the company to consider placing workers on Kurzarbeit, Germany's short-time work scheme that helps avoid layoffs during economic slowdowns.
Musk's German backlash
Local media report that thousands of unsold Teslas are now being stored at a disused East German airport 60 kilometers away, shielded from public view by trees and solar panels. Meanwhile, Musk's political entanglements continue to spark concern. Two weeks before the Nazi-like salute, Musk had publicly endorsed the AfD and participated in a lengthy discussion with the party's co-leader, Alice Weidel.
During their conversation, he criticized German bureaucracy, referencing Tesla's required submission of 25,000 pages of forms to get construction approval. "People really need to get behind the AfD," he said. Ironically, the AfD had previously opposed the Tesla plant, citing fears of American turbo-capitalism and weakened labor rights.
Residents like Hoyer remain focused on the damage to their rural surroundings. "Since the factory was built, the light pollution from the round-the-clock operation has put paid to that," she said, pointing to photos on her phone showing how the night sky has vanished. Others joke darkly about what might one day replace the Gigafactory.
"A munitions factory? A prison? In some ways these would seem like favourable alternatives," said another local, Almut, who added, "We are subsidising the richest man in the world, who in no way takes any social responsibility for what happens here."
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Fading enthusiasm
Despite criticism, Grünheide's mayor, Arne Christiani, remains one of Musk's staunchest supporters. "You have to distinguish between what happens in the US and here in Grünheide," he told The Guardian, insisting that the factory will continue to thrive.
Yet even among former enthusiasts, enthusiasm is waning. Young residents who once flew drones over the site and uploaded their footage to YouTube now decline to comment. "Nobody is willing to speak publicly about Tesla/Elon anymore… even anonymously," one told The Guardian via text.
Though Tesla's local job board lists dozens of open positions, from shift managers to technicians, it remains unclear how long the factory's promise of progress will hold in a community increasingly disillusioned with its most powerful resident.
