Tesla CEO Musk
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Tesla will pay $1.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit accusing the company of improperly handling hazardous waste at facilities across California for years.
The expense is negligible for Tesla, which reported a net profit of $7.93 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
The district attorney representing the people of 25 California counties filed the lawsuit “People of California v. Tesla Inc.” in state court in San Joaquin County earlier this week.
exist their complaints, The district attorney alleges that Tesla: “knowingly disposed of and willfully caused the disposal of hazardous waste,” which ranged from spent lead-acid batteries to used paints and lubricants, at a location that was “unauthorized” or not properly equipped to handle hazardous waste. etc. all items in the field of automotive repair and manufacturing.
The lawsuit also alleges that Tesla frequently failed to properly label containers of hazardous materials it generated, used or stored at its facilities and failed to train employees on the proper handling of hazardous waste.
The $1.5 million settlement includes a $1.3 million civil penalty and $200,000 in investigative costs, according to an investigative report. press statement Posted by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. In addition to the settlement costs, Tesla will also need to “comply with detailed injunctions for five years,” the statement said.
Tesla would need to demonstrate “appropriate training of employees” and hire a third party to “perform annual waste audits of bins at ten percent of its facilities” to meet the ban, the statement said. Jenkins’ statement said the audit will last five years and include checking Tesla dumpsters for hazardous waste.
Although Tesla’s stated mission is to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” the company and its CEO have been accused of environmental hypocrisy for years.
For example, the Institute of Political Economy ranks Tesla at 89th. Toxic 100 air polluters, based on the latest available data in 2021.Independent researcher Jack Sweeney has tracked Musk’s frequent use of private jet travel and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with it through his social media accounts, including: Elon Musk jet on the thread.
In 2022, Tesla paid a $275,000 fine to the EPA after the agency found it violated air toxic regulations over a three-year period at its factory in Fremont, California, the site of its first high-volume vehicle assembly plant. Emission Standards.
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