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Tesla Sued for Allegedly Mishandling Toxic Waste for Many Years in California
February 1, 2024
On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed against Tesla for allegedly mishandling toxic waste across 25 counties in California by district attorneys of all the impacted counties, according to CNBC.
The multinational electric automobile maker Tesla, which is currently headquartered in Austin, Texas, used to be based in Palo Alto, California, where it still keeps up its engineering headquarters. The company’s very first high-volume EV factory was based in Fremont, California, and it continues to run today.
The district attorneys claim that Tesla had “intentionally disposed of, and intentionally caused the disposal of hazardous waste” at points that were “not authorized” or adequately prepared to take care of that material.
Tesla has also been accused of failing to correctly label containers of hazardous materials that it used at its plant and failing to train employees in how to handle the toxic waste.
The complaint was dissected by environmental health and safety specialist Eric Roesch, who has criticized Tesla and SpaceX in his blog ESG Hound for many years. Speaking to CNBC, he said, “At a complex factory like an auto plant, you may expect occasional violations. But this complaint says that Tesla is not even doing basic stuff that anyone who works in an auto body shop would know to do, like labeling and management of things like used oil, spent batteries, used paint — anything that can leach into the groundwater.”
Responding to how serious he thought the claim was, Roesch said, “The state’s accusation that Tesla continued to violate environmental rules for years ‘intentionally’ and ‘negligently’ suggests that the company’s liability could go beyond civil penalties like fines.”
Shareholders were in the loop about this lawsuit. The company’s latest financial filing said, “District attorneys in certain California counties conducted an investigation into Tesla’s waste segregation practices pursuant to Cal. Health & Saf. Code § 25100 et seq. and Cal. Civil Code § 1798.80.”
It continued, stating, “Tesla has implemented various remedial measures, including conducting training and audits, and enhancements to its site waste management programs, and settlement discussions are ongoing. While the outcome of this matter cannot be determined at this time, it is not currently expected to have a material adverse impact on our business.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly said the company is on a mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
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