Tesla whistleblower says report backs his claims of drug investigation at Gigafactory

Benjamin Spillman | Reno Gazette-Journal



A former Tesla security worker on Wednesday shared a document he says bolsters his claims about an investigation into drug trafficking at the company’s Nevada battery factory.

During an appearance on the Fox Business Network show Varney & Company, Karl Hansen shared a document that he says launched an internal investigation into the claims.

Hansen said previously he was fired from Tesla on July 16 after investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Gigafactory, which Tesla and partner Panasonic built in Nevada with $1.3 billion in tax subsidies over 20 years.

Hansen, with help from attorney Stuart Meissner, later filed a whistleblower tip with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates publicly traded companies such as Tesla.

Meissner specializes in SEC whistleblower cases. He also represents Martin Tripp, another former Gigafactory worker who alleges Tesla built batteries with potentially dangerous flaws. Tripp and Tesla are involved in lawsuits against each other over the claims.

Hansen alleges rampant theft of supplies such as copper wire and drug dealing connected to Mexican cartels at Tesla's plant in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. He also claims Tesla spied on workers' phones and computers.

During the television appearance Wednesday, Hansen discussed the document he said his supervisor provided that instigated the in-house investigation of alleged drug activity.

“I was provided with this document right here from the supervisor Sean Guthro of Tesla's internal investigations department outlining that the DEA task force members assigned to Storey County Sheriff’s Department provided him with this indicating that they had validated information that ... a member of a Mexican cartel was in fact trafficking in potential large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine,” Hansen said.

Meissner also tweeted a copy of the document.

A DEA spokesman in Reno was unavailable to comment Wednesday afternoon.

On Aug. 16, when Hansen's allegations first went public, the DEA told Buzzfeed News the agency doesn't notify non-law-enforcement entities of ongoing investigations.

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The document described a report from a caller who reported seeing drug transactions on two separate dates in May. It also said the caller alleged trafficking between Mexico and the factory.

During the televised appearance and a subsequent phone interview with the RGJ, Hansen said he investigated the allegations using social media and company documents and databases.

Hansen said the investigation turned up more information and that he went back to Guthro and suggested reconnecting with local law enforcement.

Hansen said he continued to pursue leads but was unable to convince his superiors at Tesla to push the investigation forward.

“At that point I was shut down,” he said.

The document detailing the initial tip, Hansen said, shows that an earlier statement from Tesla that suggests Hansen launched the investigation on his own was incorrect.

“Tesla in fact indicated I somehow initiated these investigations on my own, arbitrarily,” Hansen said. "That, in fact, is totally fabricated and not true.”

In response to the Fox Business Network interview, a Tesla spokesperson referred to the company's prior statement about Hansen's claims.

"Mr. Hansen’s allegations were taken very seriously when he brought them forward. Some of his claims are outright false. Others could not be corroborated, so we suggested additional investigative steps to try and validate the information he had received second-hand from a single anonymous source," the spokesperson wrote in the Aug. 16 statement. "Because we wanted to be sure we got this right, we made numerous attempts to engage further with Mr. Hansen to understand more about what he was claiming and the work that he did in reaching his conclusions. He rejected each of those attempts, and to date has refused to speak with the company further. It seems strange that Mr. Hansen would claim that he is concerned about something happening within the company, but then refuse to engage with the company to discuss the information that he believes he has."

Asked about the document Hansen produced, Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro acknowledged having seen it before.

“I have seen that document,” Antinoro said. “That is the information that came to us via the Secret Witness tip line.”

Antinoro also said the information in the tip hasn’t yet been substantiated.

“There is nothing to substantiate there was a drug deal in Tesla,” he said. “An anonymous report over an anonymous method is not evidence.”

Antinoro said the tip went to both the Drug Enforcement Agency and the sheriff's department.

Antinoro also criticized Meissner for accusing the sheriff’s department for “dropping the ball” with regard to Tesla.

“We have never even had any contact with his client, this Hansen guy,” Antinoro said. “If (Meissner’s) client Hansen has any information regarding it, I invite him to give it to us. I can’t pull this stuff out of thin air.”

Antinoro accused both Tesla and Meissner of trying to use the sheriff’s department as a tool to advance their own causes.

“This attorney seems to be trying to create his own narrative to do what he can to slam Tesla. Tesla is doing everything they can to slam his client,” Antinoro said. “And both sides are trying to use my office to accomplish their goals.”