American electric vehicle maker Tesla is facing a $14 million lawsuit in Germany over how its recycled end-of-life batteries.
The filing, shared by Roadshow by CNET, alleges that Tesla didn’t follow recycling protocols to recycle EV batteries in an environmentally friendly way.
The specific issue in Germany concerns how Tesla is recycling batteries that have been damaged in an accident and can’t be reused. Tesla is meant to connect customers with a third party company that can safely dispose of the damaged battery pack. However, as Input reports, it has failed to do this in a reasonable time frame.
Tesla has denied the allegations and said in the filing that it has followed required processes. It also said that the $14 million fine won’t affect its day-to-day business.
“We have filed our objection and it is not expected to have a material adverse impact on our business,” Tesla said in the filing.
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Indeed, $14 million sounds like pocket change to the company when it’s shaping up to invest over $10 billion to expand its global production facilities.
[Read: 4 ridiculously easy ways you can be more eco-friendly]
The company hasn’t commented any further, and it likely won’t as it doesn’t have a public relations team anymore!
Tesla has already filed an objection against the case in Germany.
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