A new lawsuit accuses Tesla Inc. of repeatedly mishandling hazardous waste at its facilities in California.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Joaquin County (Calif.) Superior Court, the district attorneys of 25 California counties — including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Alameda, which is home to Tesla’s Fremont manufacturing factory — accused the electric-vehicle maker of improperly handling, transporting and disposing hazardous materials including oil, lead acid batteries, antifreeze and diesel fuel at as many as 101 sites across the state.
The counties claim Tesla
TSLA,
has for years violated California’s environmental laws, and are seeking an injunction forcing Tesla to properly dispose of its waste as well as civil penalties, which could be as high as $70,000 per violation per day, according to Reuters, which first reported the lawsuit Wednesday.
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In 2019, Tesla settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over hazardous waste violations at its Fremont factory, and in 2022 the company settled separate Clear Air Act violations with the EPA over its Fremont facility.
Tesla, which dissolved its media relations team in 2020, did not respond to a request for comment.
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