Another Week At Tesla: Sabotage, Fires, Tents

Tesla Inc TSLA has been in the headlines this week due to a combusting car, an alleged sabotage plot and a hint toward where the European Gigafactory could be located. Here's a rundown of what's occurred in the last 72 hours. 

A Potential German Gigafactory And A Model S Fire 

On Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration banned a device that disables Autopilot’s “nagging” feature, which urges drivers to put their hands on the wheel.

On the same day, Uber was reported to be encouraging driver adoption of electric cars, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Germany may host the next Gigafactory.

Germany is a leading choice for Europe. Perhaps on the German-French border makes sense, near the Benelux countries

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2018

The day before brought reports of a spontaneous Model S fire unrelated to any collision. The vehicle model had already been under investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board for post-crash fires and drew additional scrutiny with the latest incident.

Also on Monday, Musk said that, in order to meet its Model 3 production goals, Tesla erected a tent at Fremont to house a complementary general assembly line.

Needed another general assembly line to reach 5k/week Model 3 production. A new building was impossible, so we built a giant tent in 2 weeks. Tesla team kfa!! Gah, love them so much

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2018

The news came after reports of a Sunday production line delay caused by a factory fire.

A Tesla Mole? 

And to wrap it all up, on Sunday, Musk exposed an alleged insider plot to sabotage Tesla’s software systems.

In an email to employees, Musk warned that the rebel’s efforts to break into Tesla’s plant systems, alter internal product code and export unauthorized company data could be part of a larger conspiracy.

“We need to figure out if he was acting alone or with others at Tesla and if he was working with any outside organizations,” Musk wrote in the email obtained by CNBC. “As you know, there are a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die.”

He suggested potential involvement from short-sellers, oil and gas companies and competing automakers.

The ordeal, which has since resulted in a lawsuit being filed against the rogue employee, put Musk on edge and prompted him to send a subsequent message warning that the small assembly line fire could also have been part of an alleged plot.

Related Links:

Oppenheimer's Bull Vs. Bear Debate On Tesla

Musk Raises His Stake In Tesla, Bets Another $25 Million

Tesla Lays Off 9% Of Workforce, Declines To Renew Home Depot Contract

Photo courtesy of Tesla.