Tesla is enhancing security at its Nevada “Gigafactory” after the company says it received word of a alleged threat posed by a former employee.
A Tesla spokesperson told Fortune in a statement:
Yesterday afternoon, we received a phone call from a friend of Mr. Tripp telling us that Mr. Tripp would be coming to the Gigafactory to ‘shoot the place up.’ Police have been notified and actions are being taken to enhance security at the Gigafactory.
The Mr. Tripp in question is Martin Tripp—a former employee who the company has sued, alleging he sabotaged the company’s IT systems to steal confidential information. The name of the “friend” and whether the person actually knows Tripp could not be determined, however the Storey County Sheriff’s Office said deputies determined there was “no credible threat” and that an investigation of the origin of the call was ongoing. Tripp denied ever making a threat to Ars Technica.
Tripp denies accusations of sabotage and is claiming whistleblower status. In an interview with the Washington Post on Wednesday, Tripp, said that he discovered “some really scary things” at Tesla, including batteries that had been punctured and could pose a threat to people installed in the company’s cars. He told CNN in a separate interview that he found 1,100 damaged batteries were installed in Tesla’s Model 3 cars and are currently on the road and being driven by unsuspecting drivers. Tesla refutes the allegation and others made by Tripp, saying that in February a robot on the Model 3 production line inadvertently punctured some battery modules but that those affected were discarded and did not make their way into production vehicles.
Tripp has even turned his attention to his former boss and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He told the Post that “Elon was lying to investors about many cars they were making.” He added that Musk is a “narcissist” and “only cares about himself.”
It’s worth noting neither Tripp’s nor Tesla’s accusations have been independently verified. But if anything is clear, this war of words won’t be ending anytime soon.
