Bengaluru — Walmart is suing Tesla, saying solar panels supplied by the electric carmaker were responsible for fires at about seven of its stores, according to a lawsuit filed in a New York court on Tuesday.
The fires destroyed store merchandise and required substantial repairs, totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket losses, Walmart said in court papers.
As of November 2018, no fewer than seven Walmart stores, including in Denton, Maryland and Beavercreek, Ohio, had experienced fires due to Tesla’s solar systems, according to the court papers.
“This is a breach of contract action arising from years of gross negligence and failure to live up to industry standards by Tesla with respect to solar panels that Tesla designed, installed and promised to operate and maintain safely on the roofs of hundreds of Walmart stores,” Walmart said.
The world’s largest retailer started using solar panels made by SolarCity in 2010 and the roofs of 240 of its stores were fitted with solar panels made by the company.
Tesla paid $2.6bn in 2016 to buy SolarCity, a sales and installation company founded by two cousins of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla is also facing an investigation by the US national transportation safety board after several Model X and Model S owners across the globe said their cars burst into flames, a major disruptor for the company as it tries to ramp up deliveries of its cars.
Shares of the California-based company were down about 1% in extended trading.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters