The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a $49,650 citation against Tesla in Texas related to the August 2024 electrocution death of a Victor Joe Gomez Sr. who was electrocuted on August 1, 2024, at Tesla’s Giga Factory in Austin. The citation was issued in late January, but the details were not released until today.
The plant manufactures Tesla’s Model Y vehicles and Cybertrucks.
Tesla is owned by Donald Trump’s co-president and DOGE head, billionaire Elon Musk. Musk has a long history of contempt for OSHA standards and worker safety.
Three Violations
OSHA issued three $16,550 “serious” violations against Tesla, all at the maximum level for a serious violation.
One violation was for lack of personal protective equipment, stating that an “employee was working in close proximity to energized parts without wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.”
A second violation stated that “Employee(s) were permitted to work in proximity to electric power circuits that were not protected against electric shock by de-energizing and grounding the circuits or effectively guarding the circuits by insulation or other means. The “employee was performing an inspection on an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) cabinet without it being de-energized.” OSHA has a standard, commonly known as the lockout-tagout standard that requires hazardous equipment to be “de-energized” or “locked out” before any maintenance is conducted.
The final item was a violation of an electrical standard, stating that “quality control employees were exposed to electrical hazards while performing tests and inspections on newly installed electrical equipment without prior hazard analysis, warning signs, and communication of safe work procedures.”
Before work began the employer did not ascertain by inquiry or direct observation, or by instruments, whether any part of an energized electric power circuit, exposed or concealed, was so located that the performance of the work could bring a person, tool, or machine into physical or electrical contact with the energized electric power circuit. The employer did not post and maintain proper warning signs where such a circuit existed. The employer did not advise employees of the location of such lines, the hazards involved, and the protective measures to be taken.
There is no indication that Musk has contested the citation, although the citation is still listed as “open.”
Casar Demands Release
Last month, U.S. Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat whose congressional district includes the Tesla plant, sent a letter to the Labor Department demanding that OSHA immediately release the full results of its investigation of 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 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,” Casar wrote.
Past Violations
This was not the first time the Tesla plant was cited by OSHA.
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.
The 2024 citation stated that Tesla had overexposed workers to chromium and failed to train them about the hazards of the chemical. According to OSHA,
Adverse health effects associated with Cr(VI) exposure include occupational asthma, eye irritation and damage, perforated eardrums, respiratory irritation, kidney damage, liver damage, pulmonary congestion and edema, upper abdominal pain, nose irritation and damage, respiratory cancer, skin irritation, and erosion and discoloration of the teeth. Some workers can also develop an allergic skin reaction, called allergic contact dermatitis.
Family Sues Tesla
Gomez worked for a contractor, Belcan Services Group. His family is suing Tesla and others for wrongful death. The lawsuit accuses Tesla of gross negligence. They are requesting an independent investigation and over $1 million in damages.
Thank you for all this in depth & detailed information. I heard and read a few things on Tesla, but had no idea how bad it was!