German federal state leader defends water consumption of Tesla

The top official in the German state where Elon Musk built his Tesla gigafactory - the only one in Europe - has backed the company's controversial use of water resources in the region, reported dpa.

"We are well advised to use water sparingly. But Tesla is the wrong person to criticize for this," Brandenburg Premier Dietmar Woidke told dpa.

"The company does not want to use any additional water in production and intends to fully recycle its industrial waste water in future," Woidke, who is a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD), said.

Tesla opened its giant car plant in Grünheide, east of Berlin, more than two years ago. The move was considered a coup and netted the region, which was part of the former East Germany, around 12,000 jobs.

Tesla wants to increase production and expand the site. Since its construction, there have been concerns from environmentalists and local residents, partly because the plant is located in a water protection area.

But Woidke isn't worried. "If we want to secure our prosperity, we also need a strong economy," he said.

State leader says Tesla is a "huge gain"

Brandenburg's head of state sees the multibillionaire Musk's company as a role model.

"Tesla is a huge gain for the capital region and shows that we can get investments off the ground very quickly under the current conditions in Germany," said Woidke. "Mr Musk has been instrumental in driving this investment forward, and we are grateful for that."

Woidke did have one criticism: "I would have liked to have seen a little more activity and transparency from the company in recent years."

Woidke cautious on Musk's politics

The state leader was cautious when it came to Musk's political comments, some of which have supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the key rival to Woidke's SPD in the September state election.

"Of course, I don't share every one of his positions," said Woidke.

After the European Parliament elections in June, Musk posted on X: "The political positions of the AfD that I have read about do not sound extremist."

Tesla rejects environmentalists' concerns

Since the end of February, environmental activists have been protesting in the forest near the Tesla factory against the planned expansion of the factory site to build a freight depot.

In May, activists attempted to storm the Tesla site. Woidke said he had the impression that there "has been a Europe-wide mobilization here to bring the protest scene together."

According to information provided by the company in March, 2.28 cubic metres of water are required per vehicle for car production at the plant. This is a third less than the industry average, which is 3.68 cubic metres of water. Tesla uses up to 100% of the process water, it says.

Tesla uses less water that it said it would

The consumption of fresh water last year was less than 500,000 cubic metres - significantly less than the agreed amount of water per year.

According to the Brandenburg Environment Ministry, the energy company Leag uses more than 44 million cubic metres per year to cool its power plant some 150 kilometres south-east of Berlin near the Polish border.