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UPDATE 2/2: That was fast. Just days after the suit was filed, a judge in San Joaquin County ordered Tesla to pay $1.5 million as part of a settlement. That works out to $1.3 million in civil penalties and $200,000 to reimburse the costs of the investigation. The automaker was also hit with a five-year injunction that will require it to conduct annual waste audits of its trash containers at 10% of its facilities, plus proper employee training.
Original Story 2/1:Twenty-five California counties are collectively suing Tesla for allegedly violating hazardous waste disposal laws while making its electric cars, a new lawsuit filed Tuesday has revealed.
At its California factories, Tesla handles materials like lead acid batteries, antifreeze, propane, acetone, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and oils as part of its EV manufacturing business, but the resulting hazardous waste isn't being disposed of safely or legally, the suit claims.
Tesla has been allegedly dumping hazardous waste in dumpsters and other receptacles that aren't designed for such materials and has failed to adequately label and store such waste, according to the lawsuit, first reported by Reuters.
The Elon Musk-led company also allegedly failed to separate incompatible hazardous waste and did not hold itself to the state's record-keeping requirements for the materials.
Incorrectly disposing of hazardous waste poses a concern to nearby residents, the environment, and to consumers who purchase EVs because they use less carbon and are more sustainable than gasoline cars over a vehicle's lifetime overall.
California law requires businesses to follow its health and safety protocols. If Tesla does not, it could be subject to penalties for every day that it allegedly fails to follow state hazardous waste laws. The counties are seeking civil penalties and orders that would force Tesla to comply with its laws going forward.
While not a lawsuit, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also continuing to investigate Tesla over vehicle safety concerns around its "Autopilot" driver-assistance features.
Tesla moved its corporate headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, but its Fremont factory and others in the state remain active. Tesla also opened a separate engineering headquarters in California last year.
The company is incorporated in Delaware, but Musk announced early Thursday that Tesla shareholders will soon vote on whether to move its state of incorporation to Texas following a Delaware judge's denial of Musk's staggering $56 billion pay package.