Why Oppose?
In Short:> The community has vocally stated they do not want this, with over 90% of survey participants rejecting the idea.
> Adelaide can't afford to lose more green spaces: we're only 10% parklands (compared to Sydney's 57%) and have some of the lowest levels of tree canopy, in the driest state on the driest continent in the world.
> The established trees are essential to combatting the ground contamination.
> Tesla are a terrible financial investment; their stock levels are still dropping and any guarantee on returns is not secure.
> Signing a contract with Tesla now means agreeing and associating with Elon Musk, which will severely harm the city's image.
> More than 100 jobs can be created in numerous other ways, that don't involve destroying public land and investing in a company with a long history of labour and workers rights abuses.
> A "green energy" company that destroys trees and public green spaces is only green in name.
> Public green spaces must stay public and green.
In Detail:
It Destroys Green Spaces
Clearing this public land will mean removing at least 58 trees, including mature trees that help cool the neighbourhood and support biodiversity. Not only that, these trees actively help fight the ground contamination. Once they're gone, they're gone.Replacing these lost trees by (re)planting saplings does not offset the harm, and new sapling growth can't be guaranteed.
The ground contamination, which was exacerbated by previous manufacturing (including car manufacturing) in the area, is larger and more spread than most realise.
Putting a factory on top of it will not help, and promises from private companies to clean and decontaminate public land are ahistorical. The government can, and should, commit to decontaminating and preserving the land itself. Public lands must stay public and green, for the health of our communities and our planet.
It’s Risky, and Not a Good Deal
The out-of-state developer wants to build and lease a factory to American company Tesla — a company who's CEO purchased Twitter for $44B to only then drive its value down by nearly 80%. Tesla has an extensive and documented record of union suppression, unsafe working conditions, and racial discrimination within their facilities.Their products (namely batteries) come with serious fire and manufactory risks, especially when paired with hazardous waste handling.
Associating with a company like Tesla (and subsequently Elon Musk) risks bringing protests to the area, gives the community a bad image, and hurts Tonsley's reputation.
Not only all of this, but Tesla’s value and sales have been plummeting, and levels of trust in their brand is at an all time low. Tesla is consistently showing itself to not be a financially smart investment.
Resources:
Foreground 2017: City ParklandsS Strycharz & L Newman 2009: International Journal of Phytoremediation
EPA South Australia 2014: Report
EPA South Australia 2024: Site Contamination
Environmental Reports, 2024: Urban Green Spaces
Discrete News, 2024: Twitter Value Loss
Reuters, 2024: Tesla and Union Claims
The Guardian, 2022: Tesla Gigafactory Lawsuit
The Guardian, 2024: Tesla Racial Discrimination Settlement
Business Insider, 2019: Tesla Car Fires
Scientific American, 2023: EV Battery Repair Risks
The Guardian, 2025: Tesla Protests and Elon Musk
Gizmodo, 2025: Tesla Sales Decline
Ultimately, regardless of whoever runs a factory:
Green public spaces must not be destroyed and sold off to the highest bidder for private corporate gains.
Green public spaces must not be destroyed and sold off to the highest bidder for private corporate gains.