Tesla Says DOJ Probing Personal Benefits, Vehicle Range

Tesla Inc. says it has received requests for information and subpoenas from the US Department of Justice related to potential personal benefits violations, the advertised range of its vehicles and personnel decisions.

The company disclosed in a filing Monday that it received the requests in the third quarter.

The Wall Street Journal in September reported that federal prosecutors are investigating perks provided to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk going back as far back as 2017, including a project described as a glass house for Musk. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Tesla had created a special “diversions team” to avoid dealing with complaints from customers about their vehicle ranges.

The filing warned of “the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business” should the government pursue an enforcement action. So far, to Tesla’s knowledge, any on going investigation hasn’t concluded any wrongdoing.

The subpoenas add to a mounting number of government probes into the electric-vehicle maker. The DOJ is also investigating claims Tesla has made about its purported self-driving technology. In September, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Tesla alleging that it has been “tolerating widespread and ongoing racial harassment of its Black employees” at its Fremont, California, plant.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sean O’Kane in Austin at sokane1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Chester Dawson at cdawson54@bloomberg.net

Rebecca Greenfield, Catherine Larkin

© 2023 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.