Tesla’s clearing of trees at Giga Berlin leads to misleading coverage of ‘green economy’

Tesla’s clearing of trees at Gigafactory Berlin in Germany was necessary for the construction of an electric vehicle factory that helps produce vehicles for the European market, among some others.

However, the project, which has seen the removal of mass amounts of low-grade trees used for cardboard manufacturing, has also drawn media attention for the wrong reasons. Some publications see it as a “trade-off involved in developing a green economy.”

The problem is much of this coverage is misleading because Tesla has replaced these trees threefold since it started building out the Gigafactory Berlin property.

Last year, one million trees were planted by Tesla to replace the acres that were taken down as a result of construction:

What this @guardian article doesn’t tell you is that Tesla has helped plant over 1 million trees in Germany in 2024 alone.

There is not a single company doing more to advance the transition to a sustainable energy future than Tesla. pic.twitter.com/Yss9Gay5ee

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 22, 2024

The publication that wrote about the tree removal project used satellite imagery to show the comparison between two timeframes.

However, Tesla replanted the trees in different locations, ones that were more suitable for trees that had more environmental impact and purpose than what was previously in place at the Giga Berlin property:

Tesla Giga Berlin’s mass tree replanting zones are being finalized

The trees that were on-site at Giga Berlin were of “inferior quality,” according to Grünheide Mayor Arne Christiani. But regardless, they have been replaced and planted elsewhere.

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