EVwire brief: Tesla pushed back on a German investigation that found no evidence of illegal recording at its Giga Berlin facility, arguing in a statement that the contested incident may still have occurred.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Tesla against a representative of trade union IG Metall, alleging a works council meeting had been secretly recorded.
German prosecutors later stated that no recordings were found on the union representative’s laptop. Tesla, however, stated that the findings did not fully address the situation.
“Not very surprised… Creating a recording and saving it on a laptop was not the only technical possibility.”
Tesla Germany stated that the union secretary’s laptop had been connected to the internet during a meeting. The representative then allegedly opened WhatsApp in a browser and activated the laptop’s microphone.
When questioned about it, the union representative reportedly claimed that it was an oversight before proceeding to mute the laptop’s microphone. Tesla Germany noted that IG Metall has publicly acknowledged this “oversight.”
“Therefore, it is and remains untrue for the union to publicly claim once again that the uncovered incident never occurred.”
The dispute initially came into light after Giga Berlin plant manager Andre Thierig called out IG Metall on social media, stating that a union representative was caught red-handed recording a works council meeting.
IG Metall strongly denied the incident, even filing a defamation complaint against Giga Berlin leadership.
Giga Berlin produces various variants of the Tesla Model Y
The investigation into the alleged recording is expected to be formally closed once final documentation has been fully reviewed.
The incident is tied to ongoing labor tensions at Giga Berlin, which employs around 11,000 workers and produces the Tesla Model Y. Giga Berlin is the only car factory in Germany that lacks a collective agreement.
Giga Berlin is the only car factory in Germany that does not have a collective agreement
Despite its efforts to unionize the facility, IG Metall secured only 13 out of 37 seats during Giga Berlin’s works council election. This was fewer than the previous election.
The “Giga United” group, which is not affiliated with any union, received the most votes from employees.
Source: Handelsblatt and Dagens Arbete (DA)
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