At the heart of Grünheide, a small town in Brandenburg, two places define daily life. First, the Marktplatz, or market square, at the crossroads of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels streets, where the town hall and shops are located.
Then, just a five-minute drive away, deep in the surrounding forest, is the unassuming Fangschleuse station. At first glance, it looks ordinary – except for one detail: the constant stream of buses. Every ten minutes, they drop off dozens of workers in identical black uniforms, their badges marked with one word: Tesla.
An ‘almost Chinese’ growth
These employees – nearly 11,000 of them – work at Tesla’s Gigafactory, less than three kilometres away. Built in 2019 and inaugurated three years later, the factory spans 300 hectares. Its construction, which required clearing part of the forest, sparked opposition and protests. Today, however, it has become a symbol of a thriving Brandenburg, just as Germans, grappling with more than a year of economic recession, head to the polls Sunday in crunch parliamentary elections.
When Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised what he called Brandenburg’s “economic miracle” in early January 2024, highlighting its “almost Chinese” growth, he was mostly applauding Tesla’s macroeconomic impact. At the time, the region’s growth exceeded 6 percent, while the rest of the country was sinking into recession. In 2024, Brandenburg’s rapid expansion slowed to about 3 percent but it still far outpaces the rest of Germany, where economic decline continues.
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Media outlets credit Tesla and its controversial CEO Elon Musk, known for his far-right political leanings, with catapulting this former East German region onto the global stage. And the Grünheide factory has become its showcase.
“On November 13, 2019, the day after Grünheide was chosen, I was asked what I thought. I said it felt like the town had won the lottery,” recalled Grünheide Mayor Arne Cristiani.
More roads, a new train station and a kebab shop
In 2001, Grünheide tried, unsuccessfully, to attract BMW. Nearly two decades later, the town finally hit the industrial jackpot.
“For the first time since reunification 30 years ago, young people in Grünheide have economic reasons to stay and study,” Cristiani said.
The demographic decline remains a harsh reality in Brandenburg, where some towns such as Forst have lost over 30 percent of their population.
Tesla offers training in around 20 different jobs, ranging from highly skilled roles to less specialised ones, such as electric battery cell production and car body assembly.
The company also brings in additional tax revenue, prompting the town to expand its road network and plan a new train station.
“You could even say the kebab shop opened thanks to Tesla,” said Marieke Petersohn, a longtime Grünheide resident and active community member.
Some of the town’s budget surplus – a rarity in Germany’s current economic climate – has been directed towards various projects. The town’s youth had one special request: a kebab shop. It was granted.
‘Tesla won’t pay my grandma’s pension’
“Tesla allows us to escape the economic crisis,” Mayor Cristiani said. Recession, inflation and loss of purchasing power are key issues in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Grünheide, thanks to Tesla, appears to be immune to these concerns.
But for some locals, the impact is less tangible. “I don’t really feel any difference. I don’t work for Tesla, so what does it do for me?” asked Stefanie, who moved to Grünheide in 2019.
“Tesla won’t pay my grandma’s pension,” added Ralph, a young voter torn between the far-left Die Linke and the far-right AfD parties.
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Pensions are a sensitive issue in eastern Germany, where many retirees spent part of their careers under the GDR’s lower wages.
“It might be good for the regional economy, but locally, we still experience the economic crisis. I don’t work for Tesla, and my company is cutting costs and investment,” Marieke Petersohn said.
Since the factory’s arrival, “real estate prices, which were already rising, have skyrocketed, and young people who wanted to move back here simply couldn’t afford it”, Petersohn noted.
Sascha (name changed), who is considering voting AfD for the first time, shared his frustration: “All these Tesla workers aren’t from here.”
“I live in Frankfurt (Oder) [on the Polish border], and I’ve never even been to town,” admitted one of the few Tesla workers who agreed to speak to FRANCE 24.
But the indirect jobs created in Grünheide since Tesla’s arrival should not be overlooked, according to Cristiani. Tesla has acted as an economic magnet, leading to the expansion of childcare facilities and the development of a new business district along the road leading to the Gigafactory.
A high environmental cost
The real concern is Grünheide’s growing dependence on Tesla. What if Musk, known for his abrupt decisions, decides to pull out?
“That could definitely happen,” Cristiani admitted.
“The town would collapse,” predicted Manu Hoyer, a leader of Bürgerinitiative Grünheide, an environmental group.
Hoyer has opposed the factory from the start. “Because of the forest that was destroyed and the threat to our water supply,” she said.
Tesla’s site consumes as much water as a city of 40,000, in one of Germany’s driest regions, according to broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Tesla, which did not respond to FRANCE 24’s interview requests, has consistently defended itself, arguing that, for its size, the factory consumes less water than comparable sites.
“This is a David vs Goliath fight,” Hoyer said. “Except in this case, Goliath isn’t just strong – he’s the richest man in the world.”
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Environmental activists, from Extinction Rebellion to Bürgerinitiative Grünheide, failed to prevent the factory’s construction. “We’ve accepted that it exists but we don’t want it to expand further,” Hoyer said. Tesla, however, plans to expand by an additional 170 hectares.
While Tesla has undeniably done the region some economic good, it has also created a distorted image of reality in Grünheide.
As Petersohn put it, “Life in Grünheide was already pleasant before Tesla.” The Gigafactory has not insulated the town from broader concerns, and discontent is growing. In the 2024 European elections, the far-right AfD secured 27 percent of the vote in Grünheide, making it the town’s leading party.
This article has been translated from the original in French by Anaëlle Jonah.
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