Electric vehicle giant Tesla was sued by an environmental group, claiming that the automaker’s main California plant emitted toxic emissions in violation of local law.
Reuters reports the Environmental Democracy Project filed a complaint earlier this week, alleging Tesla’s Fremont factory near San Jose and San Francisco violated California’s Clean Air Act “hundreds of times.”
Currently, this factory produces Tesla’s core product line for the left-hand drive market, with Model Y, Sample 3, Model S And Model X it all rolls down its production line.
According to the nonprofit group, the facility exposed neighboring residents in the area as well as their workers to nitrous oxide, arsenic, cadmium and other toxic chemicals, primarily from their paint shop, including from January 2021.
It comes after the Bay Area Air Quality Management District called for an independent hearing panel to require Tesla to change the way it operates its paint shop to reduce emissions.
The agency claims flaws in Tesla’s emissions reduction system have caused the electric vehicle giant to issue 112 Clean Air Act violation notices since 2019, each causing up to 350kg of waste pollution. .
The Environmental Democracy Project not only wants an order to stop excessive pollution, but also wants Tesla fined up to $US121,275 ($182,400) per day for violating the Act.
If this fine is applied to each of the previous violations, the automaker could face a fine of US$13.58 million (A$20.43 million).
This isn’t the first time Tesla has angered Californians after it crashed sued by 25 of the state’s counties for mishandling hazardous waste earlier this year.
The counties allege Tesla violated the state’s hazardous waste management and unfair trade practices laws, improperly labeled waste, and disposed of hazardous waste in unauthorized landfills. .
The lawsuit claims the type of waste processed or produced at Tesla facilities includes diesel fuel, antifreeze, used batteries, brake fluid, aerosols, cleaning fluids, and petroleum gases. liquid (LPG), adhesives and paint materials.
Tesla ultimately agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the lawsuit, the largest settlement of environmental penalties to date.
It also previously paid the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a total of $US301,000 ($452,000) in fines and compensation related to two pollution-related incidents at the Fremont plant.
Australia no longer imports any Tesla vehicles from the US, as the Shanghai factory supplies our locally delivered Model Y and Model 3, which have become the two best-selling electric vehicles in water.
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THAN: Tesla was accused of illegally dumping hazardous waste
