Against the background of Elon Musk’s unprecedented political activity, it turned out that his production of Tesla electric cars in Austin, Texas, significantly violates the environmental regulations of the state.
Against the background of Elon Musk’s unprecedented political activity, it turned out that his production of Tesla electric cars in Austin, Texas, significantly violates the environmental regulations of the state.
«Hazardous industrial wastewater containing paint, engine oil and other chemicals flowed untreated into city sewers in violation of state regulations,» The Wall Street Journal investigation noted.
Thus, as the newspaper writes, one of the largest car factories in the world, which is owned by the company, has been releasing toxic pollutants into the environment near Austin for months.
Information about the environmental problems of the plant in Austin is contained in the correspondence of the Tesla company with the regulatory authorities of Texas, which The Wall Street Journal obtained at its request, as well as in the interviews of journalists with former employees of the plant.
«Tesla executives were aware of the problems, but sometimes opted for short-term solutions to avoid production slowdowns. Senior managers did not consider such issues to be critically important. As the head of the company, Musk set the tone for this, urging workers to speed up production and complaining in public statements that unnecessary regulations are stifling the United States», — the newspaper writes.
One environmental compliance officer at the Austin plant alleged that Tesla repeatedly asked him to lie to government officials to keep the plant running.
In June, Austin water regulators told Tesla that it violated a permit it received from the city when it dumped more than 9,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the sewer system.
Sometimes during rains, the Tesla factory would dump a dirty mixture of chemicals outside the facility, turning a stretch of the Colorado River into «a dirty brown blob.»
Tesla’s lead civil engineer «repeatedly committed to fixing the storm sewer system» in 2022, but «never oversaw any major repairs.»
At the same time, according to the publication, this is not the only Tesla factory that is negligent in its attitude to environmental regulations: over the past five years, the factory in Fremont, California, has accumulated more warnings about violations of air pollution rules than almost any other company in the country. California: It is second only to the Chevron refinery.
«Even after much discussion, Tesla’s efforts were not enough to stop the violations,» — the WSJ cited documents from environmental agencies that issued 75 notices of violations to the plant.
The publication focuses on the fact that, despite everything, Elon Musk has long been considered a defender of the environment for his role in the electric car industry. Tesla’s mission, in his words, is to «protect life on Earth.»
As we previously reported, Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk and millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will head the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut $2 trillion in US bureaucracy and unnecessary government spending.
