Friday 12, January
Tesla plant halts production due to Houthi attacks on shipping
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are one of the few foreign powers lending military support to Hamas in the War on Gaza. Shortly after the outbreak of the conflict, Houthi forces in the Red Sea began attacking merchant vessels off the coast of Yemen. Those attacks have since interrupted international trade with major shipping companies, suspending ship traffic through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and choosing instead to travel around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. This is a much longer route, and the extra time is now having consequences in Berlin.
Tesla has had to interrupt a large part of its vehicle production at its Brandenburg factory in Grünheide for two weeks due to a lack of components. The company announced on Wednesday that: “The armed conflicts in the Red Sea and the associated shifts in transport routes between Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope also affect production in Grünheide. The significantly longer transport times create a gap in the supply chains.”
The Gigafactory at Tesla has been producing electric cars since March 2022, employing around 11,500 people.
