1). “Tesla Sales Crash Up To 63% In European Markets, Is Musk Or New Model Y To Blame? Tesla's declining sales are shrinking the automaker's market share across Europe”, Feb 6, 2025, Brad Anderson, CarScoops, at < https://www.carscoops.com/
2). “Tesla Sales Fall Off A Cliff Globally, Including Germany, Australia, And China: German sales were down by a massive 76.3% last month, with Australia posting a similar 71.9% decline”, Mar 6, 2025, Brad Anderson, CarScoops, at < https://www.carscoops.com/
3). “Tesla sales are reportedly falling globally. How bad is it? It seems Elon Musk, Trump, and DOGE are bad for the EV business”, March 6, 2025, Matt Binder, Mashable, at < https://mashable.com/article/
4). “Here’s How Tesla’s Sales Have Been Hit Around the World”, Mar 11, 2025, Simmone Shah, Time Magazine, at < https://time.com/7266929/
5). “Tesla sales plummet as market competition and anger at Elon Musk grows”, Mar 11, 2025, Willem Marx, NPR Morning Edition, embedded 3 minute podcast or transcript, at < https://www.npr.org/2025/03/
6). “Trump’s efforts to help Tesla could hurt it instead”, Mar 11, 2025, Bernard Condon, AP, at < trump-evs-sales-
7). “TESLA TAKEDOWN: A Peaceful Protest Movement. Sell Your Teslas, Dump Your Stock, Stop Musk Now, Join Us”, n.d., Anon, Tesla Takedown, at < https://www.teslatakedown.com/
8). “For killing worker in Texas factory, Tesla to pay fine of $49,000, or what CEO Elon Musk makes in 8 seconds”, Mar 10, 2025, Chase Lawrence, World Socialist Web Site, (WSWS.org), at < https://www.wsws.org/en/
~~ recommended by dmorista ~~
Introduction by dmorista: Tesla, a struggling small company that Musk bought from a couple of automotive engineers, played a pivotal role in bringing Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) into the mainstream of light truck and car sales. Just this last year BYD, the Chinese BEV company passed Tesla up in worldwide production and sales. Tesla, typical of all Elon Musk's operations has been significantly buoyed up and made profitable by tax monies, in this case in tax subsidies for buying electric vehicles. But the combination of increasing competition in the BEV business and the anger engendered by Musk's actions in gutting federal agencies and attacking popular governmental programs especially Social Security and Medicare, among the largely left-liberal customers for BEVs have worked to cause a major decline in sales, profits, and share prices for Tesla. Demonstrations and protests at Tesla dealerships have occurred around the world and vandalism of cars and charging stations have also taken place. All the relatively short articles in Items 1)., “Tesla Sales Crash ….”, Item 2)., “Tesla Sales Fall Off ….”, Item 3). “Tesla sales are ….”, Item 4). “Here’s How Tesla’s ….”, and Item 5). “Tesla sales plummet ….” all discuss various aspects of the falls in Tesla's sales, profits, and share values. Falls in sales have been as high as 76.3% for monthly sales in Germany in Feb 2025 down from Feb 2024, and 71.9% in Australia for the same period. Not all sales fell that much but sales fell significantly everywhere.
Item 6)., “Trump’s efforts to help Tesla ….”, discusses the falls in sales but includes a showcase of several Teslas sitting in the White House driveway and Trump deciding to buy one for $80,000 from Musk personally. Trump even wrote at Truth Social that “.... the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, ….”. While it is clear that any consumer boycott is only a partial explanation for falling Tesla sales, it has played a measurable role in the disastrous fall in sales that Tesla has endured. Item 7)., “TESLA TAKEDOWN: ….”, provides a list of a large number of websites that are working to boycott and damage Teslas and the loathsome Elon Musk. Finally Item 8). includes a discussion of the electrocution death of an electrician who worked at the Fremont California Tesla factory, and the role that lax safety standards and toxic materials played in that death and in the health problems of various people who work in the Fremont Tesla factories.
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Tesla Sales Crash Up To 63% In European Markets, Is Musk Or New Model Y To Blame? | Carscoops
Tesla's declining sales are shrinking the automaker's market share across Europe
- Tesla’s sales fell dramatically in major European markets like Germany, France, and the UK.
- The Model Y’s upcoming local launch could explain why some are delaying EV purchases.
- However, recent surveys indicate the actions of Elon Musk may also be deterring EV buyers.
Tesla sales plummeted in several major European markets last month, including Germany, the UK, and France. This slump follows a rough year for the automaker, which sold 1.78 million vehicles globally in 2023, representing its first decline in annual sales in over a decade. While CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly polarizing behavior may be a factor in January’s poor performance, broader market forces are also likely at play.
Tesla’s Struggles in Germany and Beyond
In Germany, Tesla sold 1,277 vehicles last month, representing a massive fall of 59.5% from January 2024. Sales of EVs fell off a cliff in Germany last year after the government removed generous subsidies that had been propping up sales. Musk’s controversial behavior, including a hand gesture during a celebration of President Donald Trump’s inauguration that drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute, along with his ongoing support for a far-right political group in Germany, may have further dampened demand for Tesla EVs.
It’s not just in Germany where Tesla sales are on the decline. In France, Tesla sales collapsed 63% with just 1,143 new vehicles being registered. In the UK, Tesla sales have dropped 12%, and while that may not sound like a huge fall, it came despite overall EV sales in the market growing by 35%. Tesla has also reported sales declines of 44% and 38% in Sweden and Norway, as well as a 42% fall in sales across the Netherlands.
Market Shifts and the Model Y Question
There are likely several other non-Musk-related factors contributing to Tesla’s recent sales slump. Beyond ongoing global economic uncertainty, many prospective EV buyers in Europe may be holding out for the recently updated Tesla Model Y, one of the continent’s best-selling cars overall.
With its refreshed design, upgraded interior, and improved driving dynamics, many consumers are likely holding off on purchasing until the new Model Y is available in all trims, rather than opting for the pricey Launch Edition on offer. However, one could argue that Tesla’s discounts on the outgoing Model Y might counteract this hesitation, enticing some buyers who prioritize cost savings over waiting for the latest version.
In late January, a survey conducted by British publication Electrifying found that 59% of local EV owners and those planning to buy an EV have been deterred from buying a Tesla because of Musk’s recent actions. A poll of Swedish consumers has also found that the proportion of those with a negative view of Tesla has increased from 47% to 63%. Reuters reports that the number of locals with a positive view of the brand also fell from 19% to 11%.
Tesla’s dominance in the EV market isn’t disappearing, but between shifting subsidies, growing competition, and a CEO who never seems to stop making headlines for the wrong reasons, the road ahead looks increasingly bumpy.
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Tesla Sales Fall Off A Cliff Globally, Including Germany, Australia, And China | Carscoops
German sales were down by a massive 76.3% last month, with Australia posting a similar 71.9% decline
- Tesla sales in Germany plunged by 59.5% in January 2025 and 76.3% in February.
- In Australia, the EV maker’s deliveries dropped 65.5% in the first two months of 2025.
- Tesla’s February 2025 sales in China fell 49.16%, signaling a market share decline.
Tesla was proudly proclaiming less than a year ago that it would be selling 20 million electric vehicles annually by 2030. Fast forward to today, and things have taken a sharp downturn. After seemingly abandoning this lofty goal mid-2024, the company has also seen its first annual sales decline in a decade. Now, Tesla’s sales are continuing to slide in several major markets, including Germany, Australia, and, of course, China.
Earlier this week, we reported that Tesla sales in Norway collapsed by 44.4% through January and February, despite the country’s overall EV market growing by 53.4%. Things are even worse in Germany. New data from the KBA – Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority – shows that in January 2025, Tesla sales plummeted by 59.5%, with just 1,277 new cars registered in the country.
The situation only worsened in February. Sales were down a staggering 76.3% compared to February 2024, with just 1,429 units sold. Through January and February, Tesla has delivered 2,706 vehicles in Germany, marking a massive 70.6% drop from the same period last year. Tesla’s decline is even more pronounced when you consider that overall BEV sales in Germany climbed 30.8% in February.
Aussie Slowdown
Australia isn’t much better. Data from the nation’s Electric Vehicle Council shows that Tesla shifted 1,592 vehicles in February, a massive 71.9% decline from the 5,665 sold in February 2024. Through the first two months of the year, Tesla delivered 2,331 vehicles to Australians, a 65.5% decline from the 6,772 vehicles sold over the same two months in 2024.
It’s worth mentioning that the highly anticipated, heavily updated Model Y has just started being sold in Australia—though only in the premium (A$73,400) Launch Edition variant, with the standard version still unavailable. So, the sales slump isn’t entirely surprising.
Even so, the outgoing Model Y saw a 55.4% decline, shifting only 924 units. Meanwhile, sales of the refreshed Model 3 are down a dramatic 81.4%, with just 668 cars sold. It seems Australians aren’t quite as eager to embrace the “Tesla dream” as they once were.
Chinese Struggles
And then there’s China, where things are also looking grim for Tesla in one of its most important markets worldwide. Preliminary data from China’s Passenger Car Association reveals that Tesla built and sold 30,688 vehicles in February 2025—a 49.16% drop from the 60,365 cars moved in February 2024. This total includes both domestic sales and exports, but it’s clear that Tesla’s Chinese market share is shrinking. When you factor in competition from local EV manufacturers, the picture becomes even murkier.
It’s safe to say that Tesla’s global growth trajectory has hit some roadblocks. While the company remains a leader in the electric vehicle space, its once-unassailable dominance in key markets is showing signs of distress. Whether it’s product fatigue, the controversial nature of its CEO, market saturation, or just bad timing—especially with the transition surrounding its best-selling vehicle, the Model Y, the shine is definitely starting to wear off.
Tesla sales are reportedly falling globally. How bad is it?
Of all Elon Musk's companies, the most successful and lucrative business has easily been his EV car company, Tesla. For many, the brand name "Tesla" has become synonymous with electric cars.
Unfortunately for the company, "Tesla" is also becoming synonymous with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's embrace of the far-right.
Numerous reports have shown that Tesla's sales have plummeted worldwide as Musk ties himself to the Trump administration and fires federal workers under DOGE. EV outlet Electrek reports that Tesla's sales are worse in Europe. Last month, deliveries in Europe dropped by 50 percent compared to the same timeframe one year earlier.
Certain acts, like the so-called "Roman salute" gesture that Musk performed on Inauguration Day, have also affected Tesla's sales.
According to a new report on Wednesday, sales in Europe continue to decline. For example, Tesla has seen a sales decline of 76 percent in Germany. In February 2025, Tesla only delivered 1,429 new vehicles in Germany, compared to more than 6,000 in February 2024. This data is especially concerning for Tesla, as Germany is Europe's largest EV market. Musk recently backed Germany's far-right AfD party in the country's recent elections.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), Tesla vehicle registrations across the EU, including the UK, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, fell by 45 percent from January 2024 to January 2025. It's not just Europe, either.
Tesla sales in Australia fell by nearly 72 percent in February. The company only sold 1,592 vehicles last month compared to the 5,665 it sold the previous year.
It appears that Tesla sales are slumping in the U.S., too. According to the California New Car Dealers Association, Tesla registered fewer cars in the state in all four quarters of 2024. California is the largest EV market in the U.S. Tesla sales fell by 8 percent in the fourth quarter and 12 percent for the whole year.
Recently, The New York Times reported on now-former Tesla owners who recently sold their EVs due to Musk's actions and the associated consequences of being seen as supporters of Musk's for driving a Tesla vehicle.
As long as Musk works with Trump, Tesla's business will likely continue to decline. After all, the consumers most likely to buy an electric vehicle are environmentally conscious, often liberal individuals. Even if the Trump-Musk relationship ends, it might be too late for Tesla to redeem itself in the eyes of many of those consumers.
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Tesla's Sales Have Been Hit Around the World
Tesla sales have been faltering worldwide as consumers push back against the company’s CEO Elon Musk and his political involvement with the Trump Administration.
The company’s stock dropped 15% as of end of day on Monday, its steepest drop in five years, as the stock market plunged after President Donald Trump hinted at a recession on Sunday. And the president seems to have taken notice of Tesla’s dip—in a post on Truth Social Monday night, he blamed "radical left lunatics" for the boycott of Musk’s EV company and pledged to "buy a brand new Tesla."
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The automaker could use the boost. Recent data shows that the brand’s sales have seen major drops in markets around the world. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), Tesla sold just under 7,517 vehicles in Europe in January, half of what it sold in January the year prior. That’s despite sales of battery and hybrid electric vehicles of any brand rising in January as the E.U. continues to tighten regulations on emissions from new vehicles.
Looking at Germany, the largest market for EVs in the E.U., the country saw a 30% year-over-year rise in electric vehicle sales in February, but Tesla sales were down more than 70% compared to last year—less than 1,500 new Teslas were registered in the country in February.
Other European countries also saw sales fall. Between January and February of 2025, Tesla recorded a 50% drop in sales in Portugal and 45% in France according to Reuters, while sales fell 42% in Sweden and 48% in Norway.
Sales are falling outside of Europe as well. In Australia, data from the Electric Vehicle Council shows that Tesla sales dropped over 70% compared to last year— recording just 1,592 sales in February compared to 5,665 in February 2024, the Guardian reports.
Meanwhile, Tesla shipments from China dropped 49% in February, as the automaker shipped out 30,688 vehicles—the lowest monthly figure since July 2022, according to Bloomberg. Tesla has faced growing competition from domestic EV makers in the country—Chinese automaker BYD sold more than 318,000 electric and hybrid cars last month, a 161% increase from last year.
In California—the biggest domestic market for EVs thanks to its state mandate that 35% of new 2026 car models sold by automakers must be zero emissions—Tesla sales slumped for the fifth consecutive quarter, according to the latest data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA).
Not every market, however, has been hit. Britain saw a record number of EV sales in 2024, and Tesla sales were up 20% in February.
Musk has not commented on the sales dip, but when asked by Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow how he was running his other businesses, the billionaire said, “With great difficulty.”
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Tesla sales plummet as market competition and anger at Elon Musk grows
Tesla sales are down around the world because of competition in the market and from brand damage caused by Elon Musk's political activities and association with President Trump.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Elon Musk's fan base has helped his car company, Tesla, succeed. But Tesla's sales and share price have been falling fast, and Musk may be part of the reason why. Here's Willem Marx.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) Stop the coup. Stop the coup.
WILLEM MARX: A protest took place last week at a Tesla dealership in New York, as anger against Elon Musk and his role at the Department of Government Efficiency was transferred to Tesla. In Massachusetts, a Tesla charging station became the target for an arson attack, while in southwest France, a group calling itself anti-fascist torched a dozen Tesla vehicles.
In Europe, sales of Teslas in January fell 47% compared to last year. And that's at a time when electric vehicle numbers from other manufacturers are rising, says Sigrid de Vries, director general of the European Association of Automakers that tracks new car sales across the continent.
SIGRID DE VRIES: We see an upward trend. I mean, by any standards, you could say that reaching 15% market share - again, it's an average - for battery electric vehicles is remarkable in just five years.
MARX: But Tesla's sales are struggling not only in Europe, but China, Australia and the U.S., too, says Gordon Johnson of New York-based equity research firm GLJ. And the reasons for that are twofold, he says.
GORDON JOHNSON: It's a combination of competition eating Tesla's lunch with similar or better range, as well as disgust with Elon Musk, his unwielding (ph) support for Donald Trump. And many of Tesla's historical customers have been, you know, far-left-leaning liberals. That's turned a lot of people off.
MARX: Johnson's been covering Tesla since 2019 and says vehicles are being vandalized, set on fire or painted with swastikas because of Musk's decision to serve in the new U.S. administration.
JOHNSON: If you talk to any normal auto CEO, they'll tell you they stay out of politics and they try to stay out of the limelight, because when you create brand destruction for an automobile company, it's nearly impossible to come back from that. And Elon Musk is creating brand destruction on a grand scale.
MARX: Other auto analysts, though, insist Tesla's situation is slightly more complicated.
JOHN MURPHY: There's an extreme conflation of some of the concern around consumer souring on Elon with a major changeover - one of the largest ever done - in the auto industry.
MARX: John Murphy is head of automotive U.S. research at Bank of America and says the lack of updated Tesla models may be a more relevant reason for the company's sales slumps.
MURPHY: The key driving factor at Tesla is it's going through a major changeover of its all-important Model Y. That will result in shortages, and we'd expect sales to recover pretty meaningfully in the second and third quarter as that production ramps back up.
MARX: When you compare company revenues, Tesla shares have for a long time traded far higher than those of other U.S. carmakers, so some analysts say that means its stock has further to fall. More than many other stocks, Tesla shares are also traded by ordinary retail investors, some of whom love the company, some of whom hate it. That can make the stock price rise and fall sharply, analysts say, and that volatility in turn encourages hedge funds to join the trading and profit from the price swings. With the recent slump in Tesla's share price, Musk has seen a dent in his personal fortunes that's larger than the net worth of fellow billionaire Bill Gates.
For NPR News, I'm Willem Marx in London.
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Trump's efforts to help Tesla could hurt it instead
Donald Trump’s support for Elon Musk’s car company could end up hurting it.
Tesla investors cheered Tuesday as Trump came to the defense of Musk’s beleaguered and boycotted carmaker by lavishing the Tesla CEO with praise in a press conference as five Teslas lined up in the White House driveway. Trump called Musk a “patriot” and announced that he had even bought one of his cars — a show of support that may have helped Tesla stock close higher for the day after a plunge a day earlier.
But experts warn the unusual presidential backing of a private company could backfire.
“Tesla is becoming a political symbol of Trump and DOGE, and that is a bad thing for the brand,” said Wedbush Securities financial analyst Dan Ives, referring to the advisory group in charge of cutting government spending led by Musk. “You think it’s helping, but it’s actually hurting.”
Tesla’s stock began rising from the opening Tuesday after Trump posted overnight on his Truth Social platform that Musk was “putting it on the line” to help the country. Trump claimed in the post that “Radical Left Lunatics” were attempting to “illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ’baby.’”
“I don’t like what’s happening to you,” said Trump, before picking a red Model S, which retails for $80,000. As he eased into the driver seat, he exclaimed, “Wow. That’s beautiful.”
The stock ended up closing up nearly 4% on Tuesday after one of the worst single day sell-offs in Tesla’s history a day earlier.
Tesla has been pummeled this year under competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China. Numerous auto industry analysts have also pointed to Musk’s close association with Trump and with far right causes globally. Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters and its vehicles vandalized on the street. Tesla owners, perhaps in a bid to avoid being targeted, have placed bumper stickers on their cars with messages like, “I bought it before Elon went nuts.”
Shares have plummeted 45% in 2025 and on Monday tumbled more than 15% to $222.15, the lowest since late October, reflecting newfound pessimism as sales crater around the globe.
Musk pumped $270 million into Trump’s campaign heading into the 2024 election, appeared on stage with him and cheered Trump’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November. Tesla shares soared to $479 per share by mid-December, but are now trading around $230 per share.
That drop could hurt the company in the coming year in two ways.
First, Tesla offers many of its workers the chance to buy shares at a discounted price as a way of incentivizing them. But with the stock down sharply, this discounted price offered last year is in many cases higher than the stock is currently trading, meaning there is no discount at all and the incentive is worthless.
Second, the price drop could limit Tesla’s ability to raise money by selling newly created shares to investors to fund research and expansion. In 2020, the company sold $12 billion worth of shares as it was building factories in Berlin and Texas and pouring money into self-driving technology. A falling stock price means it will get far less in proceeds in any future so-called secondary offerings, though slumping sales means it may not need to expand soon.
Musk has become the face of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn government downsizing efforts, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The department has promised massive federal worker layoffs and aims to drastically reduce government spending. Musk’s involvement has raised a familiar issue for Tesla shareholders: That the CEO, who also runs several other companies, is too distracted to fully focus on his EV company.
Some of those other companies have also run into trouble recently. His X social media platform crashed several times on Monday, which Musk claimed was a “massive” cyberattack. But like the clear-cutting he’s done with federal jobs, Musk slashed the number of employees at X and technology experts warned of increased vulnerability.
Last week, a rocket launched by Musk’s SpaceX exploded and broke apart over Florida, about two months after another of the company’s rockets failed.
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I could not copy the text from https://www.teslatakedown.com
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For killing worker in Texas factory, Tesla to pay fine of $49,000, or what CEO Elon Musk makes in 8 seconds
Tesla workers looking to expose working conditions: Contact the WSWS by filling out the form below. Your comments will be kept strictly anonymous.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a $49,650 (€45,780) fine against Tesla for the August 1, 2024 death of journeyman electrician Victor Joe Gomez Sr. at its “Gigafactory” in Austin, Texas. The worker in question was electrocuted while working on a panel that was supposed to have not been energized.
The details in the OSHA reports make clear this was a foreseeable and preventable death, but it was made inevitable given the lack of safety measures at the plant. As of this writing, there is no indication that the citation has been contested, but the case status is still listed as “open.”
The fine amounts to less than a slap on the wrist for the world’s most valuable car company, with a market capitalization of nearly $700 billion at this time. The fine is less than 0.0003 percent of the company’s $17.45 (€16.09) billion in profit last year.
Financial news outlets estimate that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and open fascist who heads the infamous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration, makes an income of $6,420 (€5,920) per second, meaning he could pay off the fine in less than 8 seconds, the time it takes to put on his shoes.
While little is done to protect Tesla workers, in the first two months of 2024 Tesla paid $500,000 for Musk’s personal security, and he reportedly travels with at least 20 bodyguards. The company also employs a number of private security firms to turn its factories into virtual fortresses with all entrances guarded by gates, guards and a sophisticated array of AI security cameras, including systems, such as the Turing AI surveillance system used in parking lots in order to monitor workers in Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, and likely many others.
Through his control of DOGE, Musk and Trump are declaring war on virtually every federal department which even slightly infringes on the profit-making of the corporate oligarchy, with layoffs already having taken place in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and other regulatory agencies. Trump’s pick for OSHA’s new director, David Keeling, was a former safety director at Amazon and UPS, both companies with appalling safety records.
Amazon, in particular, has pioneered the use of robotics and tracking systems to enforce speedup inside its fulfillment centers, where workers are also regularly denied workers’ comp after suffering injuries while trying to “make rate.” During Keeling’s tenure as head of safety compliance at Amazon, former Amazon worker Shannon Allen became homeless after suffering repeated injuries, in a case first reported by the World Socialist Web Site.
Amazon founder and Musk’s fellow oligarch Jeff Bezos has also emerged as a major supporter of the Trump administration.
Unsafe conditions at Tesla
The death of Victor Gomez Sr. follows two previous fines of $7,000 each at Tesla’s Gigafactory for violations, including exposing four workers to toxic, cancer-causing hexavalent chromium.
Gomez’s family launched a lawsuit against Tesla and the contractor, Belcan Services LP, which is separate from the citation by OSHA.
The details were not released until Wednesday despite the citation being issued in late January.
According to OSHA, the incident took place in the South Expansion Building, the site of the new Tesla headquarters following Musk’s decision to move out of California in opposition to limiting COVID-19 measures in 2020. Musk operated his Fremont, California, plant illegally during lockdowns without any consequences from the Democratic Party-controlled state government.
The fine total comes from three “serious” violations, viewable on OSHA’s website here. The first violation was for working in close proximity to energized parts without wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, including for the “eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers.” From the description provided, it would seem that Gomez Sr. was doing work which necessitated an arc-flash rated suit. Instead, he was given essentially nothing.
The second violation was for Tesla permitting work “in electric power circuits that were not protected against electric shock by de-energizing and grounding the circuits or effectively guarding the circuits by insulation or other means” and that Gomez was performing an inspection on an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) without it being de-energized.
The third citation stated:
Before work began the employer did not ascertain by inquiry or direct observation, or by instruments, whether any part of an energized electric power circuit, exposed or concealed, was so located that the performance of the work could bring a person, tool, or machine into physical or electrical contact with the energized electric power circuit. The employer did not post and maintain proper warning signs where such a circuit existed. The employer did not advise employees of the location of such lines, the hazards involved, and the protective measures to be taken.
It adds that in the same building:
On or about August 1, 2024, and at times prior thereto, quality control employees were exposed to electrical hazards while performing tests and inspections on newly installed electrical equipment without prior hazard analysis, warning signs, and communication of safe work procedures.
Essentially, no safety measures, including such basic measures like Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO), were present A worker at the plant told the WSWS that LOTO was loosely enforced and that the company should “enforce LOTO more and actually have a crew or a system to verify that LOTO is being properly done.”
Tesla is one of the poster-children for workplace injuries. The Austin, Texas, plant had the eighth most injuries of any workplace in America, or roughly one injury for every 13 workers at the facility, according to OSHA’s 2023 data, the latest available from the agency. The third-most dangerous plant, according to the same figures, was Tesla’s plant in Fremont, California, which had 2,149 injuries.
