Federal regulators have cited Tesla for violating workplace safety rules in
connection with the electrocution of a worker last summer at its Austin, Texas, auto-manufacturing plant.
The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed the findings in a statement to Reuters.
“The investigation is closed and citations have been issued,” said the departm
ent, which oversees the agency that conducted the Tesla probe, the U.S. Occupation
al Safety and Health Administration.
The Labor Department said the matter was concluded in late January. The department declined to disclose the nature of Tesla’s workpl
ace-safety failures or whether any penalties were imposed.
The case has been closely watched amid public debate about the oversight of Te
sla and other businesses run by billionaire Elon Musk as he directs a radical overhaul of federal agencies on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump, now steers the newly created Department of Government Efficiency,
which aims to slash federal spending and staffing. Musk’s businesses, including
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Tesla and rocket-maker SpaceX, rely heavily on government contracts, subsidies and policies.
OSHA launched the investigation immediately after the August 1 death of Vic
tor Gomez Sr., an electrician working as a contractor at the Tesla plant in Texas, acc
ording to OSHA records and a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Tesla by Gomez’s family.
Gomez was killed while inspecting electrical panels at the site, according
to the suit. The lawsuit alleges negligence and argues that the panel was supposed to be in
active but had already been powered up, resulting in Gomez’s electrocution.
Musk and Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately access court filings by Tesla in the lawsuit.
On Wednesday, U.S. Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat whose congressional district includes the Tesla plant, sent a letter to
the Labor Department urging that OSHA immediately release the full results of its investigation of Gomez’s death. The letter s
aid that a refusa
ty failures could raise questions about whether the agency is giving Musk preferential treatment.
“Americans have a right to know whether Tesla and its contractors put a man’s l
ife at risk, and whether Tesla will follow workplace safety rules going forward,” the letter read.
The plant, a 10-million square-foot facility in Austin, Texas, is a manufacturing hub for Tesla’s Model Y vehicles and Cybertrucks.
OSHA records show Tesla was cited and fined about $7,000 for two other w
orkplace safety violations at the Texas plant last year, both involving violations of rules to protect workers from chemical hazards. In 2022, the company also was hit with a pair of complaints claiming that it failed to address alleged workplace-safety and wage-law violations by subcontractors during the construction of the facility.
