Tesla Inc. can pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed earlier this week by 25 California counties accusing the electric-vehicle maker of mishandling hazardous waste.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins introduced the settlement late Thursday.
“While electric vehicles may benefit the environment, the manufacturing and servicing of these vehicles still generates many harmful waste streams,” Jenkins stated in an announcement. “Today’s settlement against Tesla, Inc. serves to provide a cleaner environment for citizens throughout the state by preventing the contamination of our precious natural resources when hazardous waste is mismanaged and unlawfully disposed.”
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, accused Tesla
TSLA,
of improperly dealing with, transporting and disposing hazardous supplies together with oil, lead acid batteries, antifreeze and diesel gas at as many as 101 websites throughout the state.
As a part of the settlement, Tesla was ordered to pay $1.3 million in civil penalties, and $200,000 to reimburse the price of the investigation, which started in 2018. Tesla additionally should adjust to an injunction for 5 years to correctly eliminate its hazardous supplies.
Last month, Tesla reported earnings of $7.9 billion within the fourth quarter.
Tesla, which dissolved its media relations staff in 2020, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Tesla shares are down about 24% yr so far, in comparison with a 3% achieve by the S&P 500
SPX.
Source web site: www.marketwatch.com
