Let Tesla grow? Three German teenagers have some thoughts.

Tesla's massive assembly plant outside Berlin, which opened two years ago in a community known for its forests and lakes, still clashes many residents. They fear it will threaten the quality of their water and air and disrupt the tranquility that drew them to the area.

Steffen Schorcht, 63, who lives on the other side of the highway. factory, said light pollution alone meant he could no longer see the stars when he looked up at night.

Now Tesla wants clear an additional 250 acres of forest. near the plant for warehouses and a rail yard, as well as daycare for employees and the community. Mr. Schorcht and many of his neighbors are determined to make sure that doesn't happen.

“We say, 'Enough is enough,'” said Mr. Schorcht. Their resistance campaign includes weekly hikes through the threatened forest and visits to the gates.

But three local teenagers see the situation differently. For them, the arrival of a headline-grabbing company with an intense focus on disruptive innovation has injected dynamism into Grünheide, their sleepy town of 9,000, and given them a perspective for their future.

ImageThe arrival of the Tesla factory in Grünheide two years ago divided local residents.Credit...Katrin Streicher for the New York Times

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