March 4, 2020—Tesla barred Nevada workplace safety officers from conducting a comprehensive inspection of the manufacturing operations at the Gigafactory outside of Reno, reported USA Today.
After two months of fending off inspectors who were called to investigate equipment that had severely injured two women, Tesla resorted to pulling political strings to bring an end to the standoff, successfully thwarting a complete inspection of the factory.
The standoff came to light after multiple public records requests were submitted by the Reno Gazette Journal to Nevada OSHA and the Storey County Sheriff's Office. The Reno Gazette Journal, in partnership with The City Podcast, investigated working conditions at the Gigafactory in 2018, finding the factory, which was granted more than $1.3 billion in tax incentives, generated more than 90 visits by OSHA inspectors during its first three years of operation, far more than any other factory in the region, according to the report.
