Air District seeks order to stop Tesla’s ongoing air quality violations

The Air District is seeking an abatement order to stop frequent and ongoing violations from the paint shop operations at the facility. Tesla has emitted harmful precursor organic compounds and toxic air contaminants directly into the atmosphere without proper abatement, resulting in 112 Notices of Violation since 2019. Each of these violations can emit as much as 750 pounds of illegal air pollution, according to some estimates. The violations are frequent, recurring, and can negatively affect public health and the environment.

Tesla’s recurring violations result from a variety of causes. In some cases, Tesla’s thermal oxidizer or related components of the abatement system break down repeatedly and emissions are automatically vented directly into the atmosphere without proper abatement. In other cases, the abatement equipment is functioning properly, but Tesla shuts the system down when there are problems with other equipment in the paint shops. This has happened even when these problems are caused by Tesla staff or its contractors, and unabated emissions are sent into the atmosphere. The Air District’s position is that these violations are foreseeable and can be redressed.

If the Hearing Board issues the abatement order, Tesla will be required to implement a plan to address these recurring violations through a two-step process:

• First, hire a third-party consultant to do an evaluation and make recommendations. Tesla would then be required to develop a proposed implementation plan to implement the third-party consultant’s recommendations, which it will file with the Hearing Board for approval.
• Second, execute the implementation plan as approved by the Hearing Board to stop the avoidable release of uncontrolled emissions, except where it may be absolutely necessary for safety reasons.

The public is encouraged to attend the Hearing Board hearing in this case. Members of the public will be able to provide comments or testimony, in person or via Zoom, if they have points they would like the Hearing Board to consider. Once the hearing is scheduled, a link will be posted on the Air District’s website. The public can also sign up for Hearing Board updates on the Sign Up for Information web page.

View press release(133 Kb PDF, 2 pgs, posted 09/05/2024)( English | Tagalog | tiếng Việt | 中文 ).

View NOVs(41 Mb PDF, 221 pgs, posted 01/05/2024).

View Hearing Board Accusation(465 Kb PDF, 24 pgs, posted 02/05/2024).