China Tesla plant where worked died had safety weakness: Reports

Government inspectors in China concluded Tesla Inc’s Shanghai factory where an employee died in a February 4 accident has weaknesses in its safety measures, news reports said Wednesday.

The emergency bureau of Shanghai’s Pudong district recommended an unspecified penalty for Tesla, the business news magazine Caixin and other outlets reported. They cited a copy of the report posted on the city government website.

The report was removed from the website on Wednesday. An employee of the emergency agency who would give only his surname, Wu, told The Associated Press that Tesla asked for the report not to be made public because it contained photos of its production process.

The investigation concluded that the Tesla employee who died had failed to follow rules and did not lock a safety gate, according to the news reports. It said another employee failed to make sure the area was clear of people before turning on the equipment that crushed the 31-year-old employee, who died later at a hospital.

Posts that circulated on Monday on Chinese social media purported to be from Tesla employees complaining that their bonuses were cut due to the death. They appealed to CEO Elon Musk.

Musk said on Twitter on Monday, “Was alerted this weekend. Looking into it.”

Tesla did not respond Wednesday to requests by email for comment.