Raging Grannies Protest Tesla

Raging Grannies Protest Tesla

A group of concerned activists is raising questions about one potential location for Tesla's future Model S assembly plant. The Raging Grannies spent last Saturday in front of the Tesla dealership in Menlo Park, California, asking why the electric vehicle company might build their future plant on a brownfield site in the SoCal town of Downey.

The site was previously used for military and NASA research, but has since been redeveloped with a hospital and a film production facility. Numerous people who have worked at the location say that they're now suffering from chronic, debilitating illnesses possibly caused by toxic waste left behind by the government's research.

The Grannies admit that they don't know what's causing these ailments, but they do question why Tesla hasn't considered repurposing the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, which is set to close on the first of April, leaving nearly 4,000 union auto workers unemployed.

To be fair, Tesla hasn't chosen a location for the plant yet, and spokesman, Ricardo Reyes, told Autoblog Green that, "Deciding where to build our state-of-the art, energy-efficient manufacturing home should be deliberative process, and we intend to get it right. We will test and re-test any location before moving forward."

See the Raging Grannies in action below. For more information on the Downey toxic dump site, try any of the source links below.

Sources: Indybay.org, Autoblog Green, LA Times, Blip.tv