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Do consumers in Brandenburg have to pay 233,000 euros for Tesla?
Tesla has been negotiating a new contract with its water supplier for months. This should provide preferential treatment for the US car manufacturer – at the expense of other customers.
After a long dispute, the regional water supplier agreed on a new water contract for the electric car manufacturer Tesla in Brandenburg two weeks ago. On December 4th, the region’s 16 mayors negotiated until late into the night at the meeting of the municipal water association Strausberg-Erkner (WSE). Then the chairman of the meeting, Thomas Krieger, proudly announced: A contract offer had been approved by a majority. Tesla just has to agree.
However, Krieger did not reveal to the citizens what the mayors had agreed to with the region’s largest industrial company. Instead, he said: “I think Tesla should be able to live well with the contract.” Research by star and RTL come to a similar conclusion.
Tesla exceeded limits in wastewater
Because it looks like the draft contract favors Tesla in several ways. First of all, there are the permissible limit values for water-polluting substances in wastewater, which the car manufacturer had at times significantly exceeded in its factory in the past. Research by star and RTL first made the excessive phosphorus and nitrogen levels public in February 2024. But instead of forcing Tesla to lower limits with claims for damages, the water association meeting decided, according to research, to take a different step: The draft contract should, among other things, stipulate higher limit values for nitrogen.
Apparently the draft should also include special financial conditions for Tesla. star and RTL has an alarming letter that the water association head André Bähler wrote to the region’s mayors on December 13th. In it he warns that the draft contract they have approved will lead to a deficit in the economic plan of the water supplier WSE. According to his assessment, this revenue gap “ultimately has to be borne by all WSE customers”. The alleged reason: In the draft contract, the fees for drinking water and wastewater are supposed to be frozen at the level of 2022 and 2023 respectively. If Bähler is right with his warning, the contract would exempt Tesla from fee adjustments in the future.
Association head confirms funding gap
According to research, there could be a financial gap of around 233,000 euros for the coming year alone. Since the municipal water board should not make a loss, the sum will inevitably be offset by increasing fees for consumers. WSE boss Bähler confirmed the amount when asked.
star and RTL confronted the 16 mayors, as voting members of the water association assembly, with the research. The chairman of the association meeting and mayor of the municipality of Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf, Thomas Krieger, answered on behalf of the association. He did not comment on the alleged financial gap of 233,000 euros. When asked whether Tesla would be granted a special regulation and whether the new drinking water fees would therefore not apply to Tesla, Krieger replied: “Tesla expressly confirmed the validity of the price fixing before the association meeting.” However, Krieger did not explain to what extent these affirmations were incorporated into the draft contract now presented. Of the other mayors, only Ralf Steinbrück from the municipality of Schöneiche responded. He did not explicitly deny the special treatment for Tesla. Instead, he said that the electric car factory was located in the Freienbrink commercial and industrial area. “The association meeting has decided on the prices that apply to all customers there.” Tesla left an editorial query unanswered.
Criminal complaint for “taking advantage in office”
Meanwhile, there is dissatisfaction with the draft contract among the Tesla-critical citizens’ initiatives and environmental associations in the region. The Association for Nature and Landscape Brandenburg even filed a criminal complaint against a mayor who was allegedly involved in the draft contract. The accusation: “Suspicion of taking advantage in office” because the draft contract would bring disadvantages for customers. The accused denied the allegations.
star and RTL also asked the 16 mayors whether they had ever checked at the association meeting to what extent any of them owned Tesla shares. Schöneiche’s mayor Steinbrück replied: “There has been no reason to check this yet.” And the association’s chairman, Krieger, wrote that the association members do not have to check each other’s compliance with applicable laws and have “no authority whatsoever” to do so.
Source: Stern
