Tesla spied on workers and turned a blind eye to possible drug-dealing, says fired employee
Karl Hansen, who worked in Tesla’s internal investigations team, has filed a whistle-blower complaint with market watchdog the SEC
San Francisco/Washington — A fired Tesla Gigafactory employee has accused the company of spying on employees and failing to act after learning that a Mexican cartel may be dealing drugs inside the company’s Nevada battery factory. The employee, who worked at the battery factory, has filed a whistle-blower complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Karl Hansen, a former member of Tesla’s internal investigations team, filed a tips, complaints and referrals form to the SEC about the Gigafactory on August 9, his attorney, Stuart Meissner, said in a news release. Whistle-blowers can receive 10 percent to 30% of penalties the SEC collects. Tesla said it took the allegations that Hansen brought to the electric car maker seriously, and investigated them. "Some of his claims are outright false. Others could not be corroborated," Tesla said in its statement. The SEC declined to comment.
The complaint to the SEC comes amid intense focus on the company and CEO Elon Musk, wh...
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