Tesla has reportedly thrown a “Giga-Event” for its employees at Gigafactory Berlin, featuring German rapper Kool Savas. The goal? To rally the troops ahead of a critical union vote. The result? A “cringe” performance involving a Cybertruck, failed “Elon” chants, and some anti-union propaganda.
We have been covering the ongoing tensions between Tesla and IG Metall, the powerful German metalworkers’ union, for years now. While Tesla has managed to fend off a complete union takeover of the works council in the past, the union has gained ground in a vote last year, and a new election is looming.
Tesla’s strategy to counter this seems to be… distinct.
According to a new report from Handelsblatt, Tesla management organized a private “Giga-Event” on December 2 to “boost morale” and, apparently, to explicitly campaign against IG Metall.
The centerpiece of the event was a performance by famous German rapper Kool Savas. And this is where things reportedly got cringe.
Witnesses and a video provided to the German newspaper described the scene as incredibly awkward. Savas reportedly drove onto the stage in a Tesla Cybertruck, which is a rare sight in Europe, and attempted to hype up the crowd of factory workers.
The report states that the rapper tried to start an “Elon, Elon” chant, but the crowd of employees refused to join in. He changed references of ‘Mercedes’ to ‘Tesla’ in his song.
Tesla employees weren’t into it at all, and the rapper admitted after five songs:
“You guys are tough, man. You guys are really tough. Tesla, what’s wrong with you?
When the applause for Tesla as a “great employer” was lukewarm at best, Savas reportedly asked the audience if they had a “stick up their ass” (Stock im Arsch).
You can’t make this stuff up.
But it wasn’t just about a rapper struggling to read the room. The event was held with the backdrop of an upcoming work council vote.
In the last one in 2024, IG Metall managed to elect the biggest faction, but fell short of a majority.
Now, with Tesla’s sales crashing in Europe and Elon Musk’s popularity plummeting to a new low, management is scared that IG Metall could make the gains needed to control a majority of the workers’ council.
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin manager André Thierig took some shots at the union in his speech at the event, according to Handelsblatt’s report.
The good news is that he announced a 4% wage increase for employees, but he falsely claimed that they would have only gotten two if IG Metall held collective bargaining power.
On the other hand, IG, which welcomed the wage increase, claimed that Tesla needs to increase salaries by another 30% to be on par with the auto industry in Germany.
Furthermore, the report claims that Thierig suggested that Tesla’s expansion plans at the factory, including recently announced battery production, is dependent on the results of the upcoming work council election in early 2026.
IG Metall chief Otto sees a pattern at Tesla:
For years, the message has been: if you work hard, don’t join IG Metall, and dutifully elect the management-appointed works council, the factory will be expanded. Then you’ll all have unprecedented opportunities for advancement.
He sees this as a threat to control employees.
While Tesla reiterated that jobs for the 11,000 employees at Gigafactory Berlin are secured, there are growing concerns as Tesla’s sales in Europe have crashed more than 30% in 2025.
Electrek’s Take
One thing is clear: the union is having a positive impact on Tesla workers.
I doubt Tesla would be offering a 4% wage increase right before a union vote if people weren’t flirting with the idea of joining IG Metall.
What I dislike is the anti-union rhetoric. It is not needed. Let the union make its case, management make theirs, and let the employees choose. That’s it.
If you are a good employer, you don’t need to hire a rapper to tell your employees that you are a good employer.
As for job security for Tesla employees in Germany, I think there’s room for concern.
Thierig noted on stage that Model Y was still the best-selling EV in Europe, which is true, but it’s also true that sales are down 30% in Europe in 2025. And that’s compared to 2024, when sales were down 10% year-over-year.
Tesla’s situation in Europe is undeniably not great.
The automaker was expected to bring several vehicle programs to Giga Berlin, but the factory has now been operational for almost 4 years and still only produces the Model Y.
I think the only reasonable hope the factory has is the potential addition of the Tesla Semi program. Other than that, I see it shrinking rather than expanding.
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