This is about more than one block of land.
It’s about who gets to shape our neighbourhood — and whether public space stays public.

Why Say No?

It Destorys Green Spaces

Clearing this public land will mean removing 58 trees, including mature trees that help cool the neighbourhood and support biodiversity. 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 guarenteed.

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 should, and can, commit to decontaminating 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. Telsa is consistently showing itself to not be a financially smart investment.

Resources:

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 the factory:
Green public spaces must not be destroyed and sold off to the highest bidder for private corporate gains.

Take Action!

Trees Not Teslas is an independent collective of individuals concerned for the community.

We acknowledge we are situated on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and recognise the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the land.
Sovereignty was never ceded — it always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.

The content of this campaign concerns an issue of public interest and is intended solely for the purpose of informing and encouraging public discussion. All opinions expressed are honest opinions made in good faith and relate directly to matters of public interest. We do not intend to cause harm to any individual, organisation, or entity. The information we provide is a fair summary of facts and details that are already publicly available. No one involved in this collective campaign stands to profit from any outcome.