The US electric car makerTeslashould in Germany Pay a fine of over twelve million euros. According to information from “Welt am Sonntag”, this is evident from the report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the third quarter of the fiscal year. It says: “The German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) has issued a fine of twelve million euros against our subsidiary in Germany”.
The reason for the penalty is, among other things, the allegation that Tesla did not comply with laws that affect the take-back obligations for battery products.
The automaker of Elon Musk (49) writes that the allegations are mainly about “administrative obligations” and that Tesla continues to take battery packs back from its vehicles. According to its own information from the annual report, the company filed an objection to the decision. “Although we cannot foresee the outcome of the proceedings, including the final amount of the penalty, we have lodged an objection and it is not to be expected that it will have a materially negative impact on our business,” it said.
The background is apparently the German Battery Act, which stipulates that manufacturers of e-cars must take back the batteries they sell or name a disposal partner. Tesla is said to have violated this. The company could not be reached for comment. The Federal Environment Agency announced that one was not allowed to comment on ongoing proceedings.
The electric car pioneer was founded in 2003. In 2019, Tesla had a total of $ 25 billion in sales, with an operational loss of $ 69 million for the full year. With the third quarter of this year, the carmaker reported black figures for the fifth quarter in a row and confirmed its annual targets. Accordingly, the US company achieved in the three months to September a net profit of 331 million dollars, which was an increase of 131 percent. Sales climbed 39 percent to $ 8.8 billion in the same period.