Elon Musk, chosen to guide Donald Trump’s initiatives aimed at reducing government expenditures and dismantling regulations, urged workers to expedite their tasks as Tesla accumulated environmental infractions, as reported.
The Wall Street Journal accessed communications from regulators in Texas to Tesla that accuse the MAGA billionaire’s electric vehicle manufacturer of releasing hazardous pollutants in the vicinity of Austin, Texas—including untreated wastewater into the city’s sewage system.
Additionally, the Journal acquired a whistleblower report sent this year to the Environmental Protection Agency by a compliance officer at Tesla’s Austin facility, who stated, “Tesla consistently pressured me to deceive the government to bypass costs related to proper environmental practices.”
Documents reviewed by the Journal indicate that in 2022, Tesla illegally discharged untreated wastewater laden with toxins from a 6-acre “evaporation” pond constructed by the company into the Austin sewage system without authorization from local officials. Employees even discovered a deceased deer in the pond, which was contaminated with sulfuric and nitric acids.
Earlier this year, Tesla was informed by local authorities of a breach of its municipal permit, having disposed of over 9,000 gallons of inadequately treated wastewater that did not meet pH standards, according to the Journal.
Neither Musk nor Tesla responded to inquiries from the Journal, and Tesla did not promptly provide feedback to the Daily Beast’s request.
Musk’s aerospace firm, SpaceX, recently faced fines from federal authorities for discharging 262,000 gallons of wastewater onto Texas wetlands without the necessary permits, a claim that SpaceX has refuted.
Insiders acquainted with Tesla’s management perspective informed the Journal that the executive team at Musk’s flagship company does not prioritize environmental regulations highly.
Past employees told the publication that management at the Austin facility disregarded concerns raised by staff about environmental issues. Musk, they remarked, fostered a fast-paced work environment, cultivating a management culture that appeared indifferent to the matters presented.
For several months, Musk has publicly voiced frustrations regarding government regulations, considering them an obstacle to his business operations and others.
In September, he tweeted, “America is gradually being choked to death by an accumulation of millions of regulations.”
Trump intends to allow him to significantly reduce these constraints, appointing him along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a commission, the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to propose slashing government spending by as much as $2 trillion.
Ramaswamy indicated their intention to “delete” entire government agencies, which could significantly diminish or essentially eliminate oversight in specific industries, depending on the scale of the cuts.
Following Trump’s election victory, Musk tweeted, “We now possess a mandate to eliminate the extensive regulations that hinder the greater good.”
The whistleblower correspondence to the EPA accused Tesla of orchestrating “a complex deception” in 2022 to present a malfunctioning furnace door as operational during an inspection by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials.
The door was not sealing properly and was emitting toxins into the atmosphere, causing factory workers’ floor temperatures to rise up to 100 degrees. Tesla reduced the fuel supply to the furnace and temporarily closed the door, not operating it under “actual working conditions,” thus achieving a passing inspection. The issue, they claimed, was not resolved until several months later.
In locations beyond Texas—where Tesla has been based since 2021—the company’s Fremont, California, factory violated its air quality permits 112 times over the past five years, resulting in regulators asserting that Tesla has consistently neglected to repair equipment intended to limit the release of hazardous substances, according to the Journal, which cited the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Tesla disputes these claims.
