Red Sea disruption forces Tesla to stop production

 

BERLIN – Car manufacturer Tesla has largely halted production at its plant outside Berlin for about two weeks due to supply chain disruptions caused by attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the company confirmed on Monday.

The attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen on a major shipping lane leading to the Suez Canal have led major shipping firms to avoid the area and use alternate shipping routes, which are generally far longer.

The corridor is an important trade connection between Europe and large parts of Asia.

“Due to missing components, we are forced to suspend vehicle production in the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg between January 29 and February 11, with the exception of a few sub-areas,” the company announced.

Production at the plant, in the Berlin suburb of Grünheide, will resume in full on February 12, the company said.

Tesla did not provide details of the missing components when it announced the interruption just over two weeks ago.

Since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Iran-backed Houthi militants have launched attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea with alleged connections to Israel as a sign of support for Hamas.