BERLIN, Sept 9 (Reuters) - About 50,000 households in

Berlin were without electricity on Tuesday following a suspected

arson attack on two pylons in a southeastern district of the

German capital in the early hours, police and the grid operator

said.

Police spokesperson Anja Dierschke said a political motive

cannot be ruled out, and that a special division tasked with

solving politically motivated crimes was leading the

investigation.

Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel cited unnamed sources as

saying police were investigating whether the attack was linked

to Tesla's announcement that it planned to build a

development centre in the Treptow-Koepenick district, where the

suspected arson took place.

According to the report, police see parallels to a 2024

arson attack on a pylon by a far-left militant group calling

itself the "Volcano group shutting down Tesla" that halted

production for days at the carmaker's factory outside Berlin.

Asked about the report, Dierschke said a connection between

the attack and Tesla's announcement could not be ruled out.

Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Authorities in Berlin have blamed a number of arson attacks

in the city since 2011 on similar left-wing groups.

(Writing by Friederike Heine;

Editing by Helen Popper)