Things have been going from bad to worse for Tesla in recent months, with sales dropping for the first time in a decade at the end of 2024, and buyers turning their backs on the brand as company boss Elon Musks lets his extremist ideas shine brightly. Now, the American automaker has been cited following an investigation into the death of a worker at its Texas plant.
A Tesla worker was killed at the Austin Gigafactory last summer and an investigation into the causes of the death was immediately launched by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The investigation has now cited Tesla for “violating workplace safety rules,” reports Automotive News:
The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed the findings in a statement to Reuters.
“The investigation is closed and citations have been issued,” said the department, which oversees the agency that conducted the Tesla probe, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The Labor Department said the matter was concluded in late January. The department declined to disclose the nature of Tesla’s workplace-safety failures or whether any penalties were imposed.
Victor Gomez Sr was working as an electrical contractor at the Tesla Plant in Texas when he was killed on August 1. A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Gomez’s family following the incident.
The lawsuit alleges that a panel Gomez was working on should have been inactive but wasn’t, adds Automotive News. The suit accuses Tesla of “negligence” that it says resulted in Gomez’s electrocution, the site adds:
n Feb. 19, U.S. Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat whose congressional district includes the Tesla plant, sent a letter to the Labor Department urging that OSHA immediately release the full results of its investigation of Gomez’s death. The letter said that a refusal to release public records on Tesla’s workplace safety failures could raise questions about whether the agency is giving Musk preferential treatment.
“Americans have a right to know whether Tesla and its contractors put a man’s life at risk, and whether Tesla will follow workplace safety rules going forward,” the letter read.
The Texas plant was also cited and fined about $7,000 on two further occasions last year. The Austin Gigafactory was caught out for two other workplace safety violations, which both involved breaking rules that are in place to protect workers from chemical hazards.
