Tesla cited over worker’s death

(Reuters) — 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 plant.

The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed the findings in a statement to Reuters.

“The investigation is closed and citations have been issued,” the  Labor Department said. The department oversees the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which conducted the Tesla probe.

The Labor Department said the matter was concluded in late January. It declined to disclose the nature of Tesla’s workplace safety failures or whether any penalties were imposed.

The case has been closely watched amid public debate about the oversight of Tesla 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.

OSHA launched the investigation immediately after the Aug. 1 death of Victor Gomez Sr., an electrician working as a contractor at the Tesla plant in Texas, according to OSHA records and a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Tesla by Mr. Gomez’s family.

Mr. 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 inactive but had already been powered up, resulting in Mr. Gomez’s electrocution.

Mr. 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 Mr. Gomez’s death. The letter said that a refusal to release public records on Tesla’s workplace safety failures could raise questions about whether the agency is giving Mr. Musk preferential treatment.

“Americans have a right to know whether Tesla and its contractors put a man’s life at risk, and whether Tesla will follow workplace safety rules going forward,” the letter read.

The 10 million-square-foot plant 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 workplace 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.