Ex-Employee Accuses Tesla of Covering Up Drug Trafficking - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A former employee of Tesla, the US-based manufacturer of electric vehicles, has accused the company of failing to inform the authorities about the involvement of its employees in drug trafficking on behalf of a Mexican cartel, the New York Post reported.

In a statement issued Thursday by the law firm Meissner Associates, representing him, former security worker Karl Hansen said he had filed a complaint about Tesla's unlawful activities with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Post reported. The ex-employee alleged that Tesla suppressed an internal investigation into criminal activities.

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Hansen also said that the tech company had urged him to conceal the theft of $37 million in raw materials from the Gigafactory in Nevada and fired another staffer who had reported the theft, claiming that the individual was not a "Tesla team player," according to the New York Post.

Hansen, moreover, has said that Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk authorized spying on his employees.

A Tesla spokesperson told the newspaper that the company was investigating Hansen's allegations, adding that the former employee had refused to engage in talks with the company.

Hansen is the second Tesla employee to reveal alleged improper practices by the company. Another whistleblower Martin Tripp disclosed purported flaws in Tesla's manufacturing process at a battery factory and said that the company had sold products that could endanger drivers.

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Tesla is facing multiple legal issues, especially in light of Musk's revelation about his plans to take the company private. The SEC has launched an investigation into the company activities to determine whether Musk had intentionally misled Tesla's investors.