An image of Elon Musk making a Nazi-style straight-arm gesture, accompanied by the phrase “Heil Tesla,” was projected onto the Tesla Gigafactory in Grunheide, near Berlin, on Wednesday night. The projection was the work of UK – based activist group Led By Donkeys and Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty, according to the Canadian Global Television Network.
The incident was an attack against Musk and Tesla. Groups published the display on Instagram with a caption “Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin. #LedByDonkeys.” It sparked controversy, the German police in Brandenburg first denied it, but then, an investigation to determine how and why the event occurred began, as per the news portal.
The Gigafactory, one of Tesla’s major manufacturing plants in Europe, has often been at the center of controversy over environmental impact and operational practices.
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This latest act of activism adds another layer to the public scrutiny of the company and its CEO. Some reactions to the projection have been a mix of support and backlash against the message. Others have condemned the statement as inflammatory. Police are still investigating the situation.
According to the Spain’s national daily Marca, the case is in the hands of the competent public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt (east), as this incident may be something classified as unconstitutional. In Germany, it is strictly forbidden to perform the Nazi salute in public, as well as the use of swastikas or slogans of the time such as ‘Heil Hitler’, in this case made up as ‘Heil Tesla’, with penalties ranging from a fine to three years imprisonment.
