07:31 AM EDT, 03/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tesla's (TSLA) factory outside Berlin could be up and running sooner than expected after a March 5 arson attack on the site's power supply halted production, an official told public radio in a report aired on Monday.

Regional economy minister Jorg Steinbach said that utility workers have been operating in three shifts to restore the damaged power supply and that electricity to the Tesla factory could be restored earlier than the March 15 date predicted by the company last week.

Reuters reported that utility company E.dis made progress over the weekend and said power could be restored by late Monday.

E.dis did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Residents have protested Tesla's cutting down of trees to expand its facility. Steinbach called the incident a terrorist attack on 12,000 jobs.

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