by Scandal Around the Photo from Tesla Giga Berlin
In early June, Tesla celebrated the production of its eight-millionth car at its Giga Berlin plant. The company published a celebratory photo of its employees, but attentive users noticed that one of them made a gesture associated with the Palestinian group HAMAS. Following this, Tesla quickly replaced the image, where the controversial gesture was edited into the symbol of peace—the “V” sign.
The original post appeared on the social network X on June 6th, but was soon deleted and replaced with an edited version. Although the new photo garnered over 577 thousand views, the original continues to spread online. A comparison of the two images shows that the employee’s hand was artificially altered, but traces of the editing remained noticeable.
Legal Consequences
In Germany, the use of HAMAS symbolism is prohibited by law, so the publication of the original photo could have led to legal problems for Tesla. The country’s Federal Ministry of the Interior has clearly stated that the group’s activities are contrary to criminal law. This is especially relevant after the October 7th attacks, which led to an escalation of the conflict in Gaza.
Congratulations to the Tesla Giga Berlin team!!
Manufactured our eight-millionth car at Giga Berlin
The plant’s management, including Senior Director of Production Andre Thierig, shared the edited photo on LinkedIn, but no comments regarding the changes were made. This story raises questions about companies’ attentiveness to public content, especially under strict legislation and political sensitivity.
