A 61 year-old employee of Tesla Inc. died inside the Tesla Gigafactory 1 in Storey County, Nevada on July 22. The exact cause of the employee’s death is still to be determined pending an autopsy.

The Storey County Police Department (SCPD) said it’s still looking into the death of Michael Johnston who was found dead on the third floor of the Gigafactory. It did hint Johnston’s death might have been “medical in nature,” however.

Tesla also informed the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about Johnston’s death. It said its own investigation of the area where Johnston died didn’t find any hazards present.

OSHA Nevada confirmed it was "properly notified of the event by the employer,” according to Business Insider. The police investigation should determine if work conditions at Gigafactory 1 contributed to Johnston’s death.

"We have been deeply saddened by this incident, and our thoughts continue to be with our employee's family,” said Tesla in a statement.

“While we are still awaiting the autopsy report, we have initiated an investigation with law enforcement agencies and have no reason to believe that the incident was caused by anything related to this employee's work.

"In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to support our employee and the family through an extremely difficult time."

On the other hand, Tesla has been criticized over the years for allegedly hazardous conditions at its factories. OSHA records show Tesla employees spent double the amount of time out of work for illness or injury in 2018 than they did the year before.

Gigafactory 1 is a lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle (EV) subassembly factory that supplies the battery packs for Tesla EVs and stationary storage systems. It’s located at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in Storey County, and employs more than 3,000 people.

Working conditions at the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California are also under scrutiny.

California's OSHA has opened multiple investigations into safety violations at the Tesla Factory. Tesla was fined a record $30,000 in January for violating six different California labor regulations with the construction of its production tent.

Photo: Tesla Inc.