Where Did Thousands of Coffee Cups Disappear in Tesla’s Berlin Factory?

The American electric car manufacturer Tesla is facing an internal issue regarding tens of thousands of missing coffee cups at its factory in Grünheide, outside Berlin, as reported by the German Press Agency (dpa).

Factory manager André Thierig addressed the matter in an employee meeting on Monday, stating that a total of 65,000 coffee cups are missing. Jokingly, he said, “Statistically, each one of you already has five Ikea coffee cups at home,” referring to a recording of the employee meeting cited by the Handelsblatt newspaper on Wednesday.

Thierig clarified that his comment about the missing cups was not intended as an accusation. He also discussed other topics in the meeting, including the introduction of a new gym for approximately 12,000 employees.

Tesla has acquired many coffee cups for its employees over time, but it remains unclear where they have gradually disappeared to. This issue is not unique to Tesla and occurs in other companies as well. It has not yet been decided whether the cups will be replaced.

Due to the disappearance of cutlery from the small kitchens in the factory, it is no longer provided there. Since then, the car manufacturer has supplied recyclable cups.

Tesla, led by American tech billionaire Elon Musk, opened its only electric car factory in Europe in Grünheide near Berlin over two years ago. Production is expected to expand further, and the approval process has begun in the state of Brandenburg.