A German utility company says it has shut down the pipes supplying Tesla with water for the construction of a factory near Berlin because the automaker has not paid its bills.

A spokeswoman for the company WSE said on Thursday that Tesla was given repeated warnings its water supply would be turned off.

“The 14-day notice period has expired,” Sandra Ponesky told The Associated Press. “We can’t treat Tesla any differently than other customers.”

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

It was not immediately clear how the lack of water would affect construction work at the site in Gruenheide, which has been taking place at breakneck speed.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ms Ponesky said that as soon as the company pays its bills, a worker would be sent out to turn the tap back on again.

She declined to say how much Tesla owes.