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CRIME

Thieves dynamite ATM, blow up bank

German thieves made an explosive miscalculation on Sunday night when trying to blow open cash machine – they used so much dynamite they destroyed the bank – but managed to escape with the ATM.

Thieves dynamite ATM, blow up bank
Photo: DPA

Parts of the Sparkasse bank were flung more than 80 metres across the street, damaging two neighbouring buildings, the Westfälische Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Monday.

Despite their misjudgement, the suspects appeared to have left the scene with the cash machine as police confirmed to The Local, it was missing.

The suspects probably used far too much dynamite, police in Nottuln, near Münster North-Rhine Westphalia said on Monday.

No information has been released on how much money was in the machine, but the blast has caused hundreds of thousands of euros in damage.

The flats above the bank are uninhabitable a police spokesman said, and engineers will be brought in to determine whether the entire building will have to be demolished.

DAPD/The Local/jcw

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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