Tesla Inc. workers shouldn’t pay the price for Elon Musk’s polarizing foray into politics, a minister for the German region home to the carmaker’s sole European factory said.

Tesla’s plant in the state of Brandenburg makes the Model Y for more than three dozen markets, most of them in Europe. But the company’s sales in the region have plummeted since Musk began advising the Trump administration and backing far-right parties in nations including Germany.

“I can only urge people to distinguish between a very good product manufactured in Germany by 11,000 people, most of whom come from the region and work there, and the political views of one of the shareholders of this factory,” Brandenburg’s Economy Minister Daniel Keller said in an interview.

Musk’s actions the day of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January generated in January generated blowback even among Keller’s colleagues in the German capital. Activists earlier this year sabotaged a rail line near the plant and spray-painted a Tesla store in Berlin blue — the color of the far-right AfD party Musk endorsed during the country’s election campaign. Teslas have been torched in Germany, France and Italy.

The backlash is putting German authorities in an awkward position. Tesla was welcomed with open arms by local officials who were hoping to revive industry in Brandenburg, one of several eastern states struggling with population decline and a dearth of well-paid jobs.

While the plant in the small town of Grünheide has grown into the state’s biggest employer, Tesla’s European sales slump is fueling concerns that workers there will have to pay for their chief executive officer’s divisive behavior.

Company officials — not least Musk — are now saying all is well. After a lull earlier this year due to retooling for the new-look Model Y, the Grünheide facility is back to producing around 5,000 units of the sport utility vehicle each week, said Alexander Riederer, who oversees business development for Tesla in Germany. The carmaker is sticking to its plan to double that output and further expand its logistics and battery-making capabilities, he said.

“What we’re doing right now is making preparations to be able to grow further at the plant,” Riederer said during an industry event in the German resort town of Bad Saarow.

Still, discontent has swirled around the factory for years, with activists claiming that it uses too much water and poses a threat to the environment. Tesla workers in Germany earlier this year demanded better working conditions at the site, complaining about overwork and asking for more bathroom breaks. Activists have said their efforts to disrupt infrastructure around the plant are meant to stop its expansion.

Tesla set up shop in Brandenburg just as domestic automakers led by Volkswagen AG and BMW AG started feeling the effects of intensifying competition and rapid technology shifts. VW and car-parts maker Continental AG are among manufacturers downsizing their German operations to cut costs and defend sales against an influx of affordable offerings from Chinese manufacturers.

“The entire automotive industry in Germany is currently undergoing a restructuring,” Keller said on the sidelines of the Bad Saarow event. “I think we can be grateful that we have one of the industry leaders that is not stuck with old technology.”