Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg lost power Tuesday after arsonists set fire to a nearby electricity tower, authorities said.

The blaze left the factory and neighboring towns without energy.

“If the initial findings are confirmed, this is a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure,” Brandenburg Interior Minister Michael Stuebgen said. “This will have consequences.”

Authorities don’t have any concrete suspects, but they were adamant that the power outage was caused by arson and have opened a criminal investigation.

“Thousands of people have been cut off from their basic supply and put in danger,” Mr. Stuebgen said. “The rule of law will react to such an act of sabotage with the utmost severity.”

According to reports, factory workers were sent home for the day, with no word from Tesla on when production will restart. The electric vehicle company’s Berlin plant is its largest in Europe, housing over 12,000 workers and producing over 375,000 cars per year.

The apparent attack comes as Tesla faces protests from local citizens over the company’s planned factory expansion. Last year Tesla CEO Elon Musk applied to spread the Berlin factory to a nearby forest. Around 100 environmental protestors opposed to the firm’s proposal have occupied the woods since last week.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.