Around 500,000 trees were cut down to make way for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s German gigafactory, satellite images show.
Environmental intelligence company Kayrros said 329 hectares of forest had been cut down during development of the site between March 2020 and May 2023.
This equated to around 500,000 trees, with the analysis coming after months of protests over planned expansion of the site by environmental activists.
The development of a Tesla gigafactory near Berlin has resulted in about 500,000 trees being felled
Satellite images show 329 hectares of forest were cut down at the site between March 2020 and May 2023, according to the environmental intelligence company @Kayrros
FYI @elonmusk https://t.co/OnDsy1Wca9 pic.twitter.com/4m9gnW0LMH
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Activists had set fire to an electricity pylon near the gigafactory in March, forcing the production of battery cells and cars to be suspended for several days.
Protestors have been occupying forests surrounding the site since May, with instances of them trying to storm the site.
Kayrros chief analyst Antoine Halff told The Guardian it was important to be aware of “trade-offs” in cutting down trees, given Tesla’s output of electric vehicles.
“Of course, it has to be put in perspective against the benefit of replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric vehicles.”
Halff added the felled trees equated to around 13,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide and “a fraction” of the amount saved by Tesla’s electrics replacing petrol and diesel cars each year.