Tesla is sliding after allegations the company hid safety problems and injuries
- An investigation by the news site Reveal alleges serious safety malpractices at Tesla factories.
- Employees interviewed by the Center for Investigative Reporting say injuries were deliberately left off the books.
- Tesla's stock fell more than 3% Monday after the story's publication.
- Follow Tesla's stock price in real-time here.
Shares of Tesla sank as much as 3% Monday after a report from the Center for Investigative Reporting said the company deliberately concealed serious injuries from public reports to boost its safety statistics.
The lengthy story, published Monday morning, includes interviews with multiple current and former Tesla employees. In one instance, safety lead Justine White warned superiors repeatedly about production floor hazards, sending emails to the head of human resources, CEO Elon Musk's chief of staff, and finally even to Musk himself, and received no response.
In February, Tesla touted its steep decline in official injuries, about 6.2 per 100 workers, in a blog post entitled "Becoming the Safest Car Factory in the World."
In response to Reveal's investigation, a Tesla spokesperson refuted the non-profit's reporting, saying the piece is a partisan tool for the employee's ongoing unionization drive.
"In our view, what they portray as investigative journalism is in fact an ideologically motivated attack by an extremist organization working directly with union supporters to create a calculated disinformation campaign against Tesla," the statement said.
Shares of Tesla have declined 8.8% since the beginning of 2018 amid a government investigation into a fatal Model X crash in California, disappointing Model 3 deliveries, and plunging bonds that could signal an underlying cash crisis at the electric automaker.
Business Insider has reached out to Tesla for any additional comments and will add update this post if received.