Why Elon Musk Thinks German Environment Activists' Focus On Stopping Tesla 'Doesn't Make Sense'

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Friday agreed to an opinion piece that alleges some German environmental activists have ulterior motives and are more focused on stalling the electric vehicle maker’s progress with Giga Berlin.

What Happened: The world’s richest person — in response to a report by CleanTechnica — tweeted to say it “does not make sense” that activists are overlooking coal’s impact on water but focused on stopping Tesla instead.

The report pointed out how some German environmental groups believe that Tesla’s Giga Berlin is putting their drinking water at risk. Some of these groups are suing the local German environment agency, saying tests for approval of the water supply by the waterworks agency were not available.

The report alleges that one of those activist groups is linked to legacy rival and German automaking stalwart Volkswagen Group VWAGY. 

“While that’s not, in my opinion, a crime, it should be noted that VW is a competitor to Tesla and Germany is VW’s territory. That aside, the bigger issue is coal,” Johnna Crider, who has personal investments in Tesla, wrote for CleanTechnica.

“I fully believe that these groups are misplacing their criticism and are more focused on Tesla for ulterior motives rather than addressing the actual causes of the water issues in Brandenburg.”

See Also: Tesla Secures Green Light To Build More Test Cars At Giga Berlin

Why It Matters: Tesla’s Giga Berlin start-of-production date has been delayed by several months as the electric vehicle maker waits for final approval from local authorities to commence commercial production.

The Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker and the relevant German authorities last month submitted all the requested documents for the final clearance.

A regional environmental ministry in Germany in November repeated an online consultation with local citizens to review objections related to Tesla’s Berlin manufacturing facility.

Musk has blamed German bureaucracy for the delay in the start of the production at the Berlin Gigafactory.

Tesla is reportedly expected to secure the nod to begin production in early 2022.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 6.75% lower at $1,031.5 a share on Thursday.