Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla felled an estimated half a million trees while developing a gigafactory near Berlin, new satellite analysis has revealed.
Analysis from environmental intelligence firm Kayrros suggests that 329 hectares (813 acres) of dense woodland from the site southeast of Berlin were felled between March 2020 and May 2023. This is the equivalent to around 500,000 trees.
The amount of CO2 that trees absorb varies from species to species, but a mature tree will, on average, absorb around 48lbs (22kg) of carbon every year, meaning the lost trees were equivalent to 13,000 tonnes of CO2, according to Kayrros chief analyst Antoine Halff.
Halff said: ‘The Tesla factory in Germany has led to quite a bit of cutting down of trees. Of course, it has to be put in perspective, against the benefit of replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric vehicles.’
Tesla boasts of its green credentials on its website, claiming that all the electricity used at the Berlin Gigafactory, which opened in 2022 after starting work in 2020, was ‘matched with renewables in 2023.’
The Berlin Gigafactory has been the site of regular protests since May, following the news that an expansion to the already-controversial manufacturing plant was being planned.
Environmental activists have been occupying tree houses in a nearby camp, and have tried on several occasions to storm the site.
One particularly fired-up group managed to shut down production for several days in March after setting fire to an electricity pylon.
Musk himself has criticised local police for not doing enough to combat the actions of ‘leftwing protesters.’
Halff said that the amount of CO2 lost by cutting down the trees, the annual amount emitted by 2,800 internal combustion cars, was negligible compared to the carbon dioxide saved by Tesla cars.
‘That’s a fraction of the number of the electric cars that Tesla produces and sells every quarter,’ he said. ‘You always have trade-offs, so you need to be aware of what the terms of the trade-off are.’
But the Berlin Gigafactory, Tesla’s only manufacturing hub in Europe, has come under fire for being the alleged source of many other environmental problems.
Earlier this year, German media reported that local water officials sternly warned the Gigafactory’s bosses that the wastewater the company releases into the nearby river Spree had phosphorus and nitrogen levels six times higher than permitted.
Tesla has fought back against the allegations, with the listed company’s VP of public policy and business development, Rohan Patel, claiming that Tesla recycles ‘up to 100%’ of its industrial water, and that Tesla Gigafactories use 33% less water per vehicle than the industry average.