German utility restores water supply to Tesla after stoppage

BERLIN – A German utility said Friday it is restoring water supply to the construction site of a Tesla factory near Berlin, a day after it was cut off because of an unpaid bill.

“The payment has arrived and our colleagues are on their way” to turn the taps back on, Sandra Ponesky, a spokeswoman for utility company WSE, told news agency dpa.

On Thursday, WSE said it had shut down the pipes after repeated warnings, and that a 14-day notice period had expired.

Tesla is building its first European factory outside the German capital and aims to eventually build 500,000 electric vehicles a year there.

Work at the site in Gruenheide, southeast of Berlin, has been taking place at breakneck speed.