Tesla whistleblower says Musk wanted to deport her team for raising brake issue
Former Tesla engineer Christina Balan, who was fired in 2014, said in an interview that her entire team was threatened with deportation for taking her side when she brought up a brake safety issue directly to Elon Musk. She’s now succeeded in throwing out Tesla’s arbitration case against her, and hopes to meet Tesla directly in open court in a case that could influence corporate policy nationwide.
Christina Balan is a Romanian-born engineer who formerly worked for Tesla on the Model S. Her contributions were significant enough that her initials appeared on the Model S’ battery pack.
But in 2014, she brought up what she considered a safety issue directly with Elon Musk. She thought that the Model S’ floor mats could cause a brake safety issue, similar to a situation that Toyota had recently gone through (though that also led to a media firestorm that blew the issue out of proportion). She said that Tesla had chosen suppliers based on friendships, not quality.
And she brought it up directly to Musk because… he told her to. Famously, in 2013, Musk sent out an email to the entire company stating:
Anyone at Tesla can and should email/talk to anyone else according to what they think is the fastest way to solve a problem for the benefit of the whole company. You can talk to your manager’s manager without his permission, you can talk directly to a VP in another dept, you can talk to me, you can talk to anyone without anyone else’s permission. Moreover, you should consider yourself obligated to do so until the right thing happens.
-Elon Musk, email to all Tesla employees, March 21, 2013
A few days after sending that email, Balan said she was offered a meeting with Musk, but that when she showed up to the meeting, it was instead attended by a lawyer and some large men in uniforms, and with Tesla forcing her to resign her position.
During that meeting, Balan says that Tesla’s lawyer threatened to deport many members of her team, who were currently waiting on green card applications, if she didn’t sign the resignation, seemingly in response to her team backing her up in raising these concerns. She ended up signing the resignation in protest, writing on it that “I’m resigning for the position that I was put in a month ago bc I dare to speak up to the Sr management, also bc people that had the chance to speak up were threatened…”
When Balan’s case got coverage in Huffington Post in 2017, Tesla sent a statement that Balan had stolen company resources to work on a “secret” personal project (Tesla emails show that Balan was told to work on this project by leadership). After this, Balan says she faced difficulty in finding work as companies feared ending up on Musk’s blacklist.
Balan filed a defamation suit over the press statement, but Tesla forced her case into arbitration and got the defamation suit thrown out. Forced arbitration is widely used by companies in America to find faster and more corporate-friendly rulings, an approach that has only become more common after endorsement by the “Supreme” Court.
Balan then appealed that decision, and after many delays (some related to her fight against breast cancer, which is now in remission), she finally succeeded in getting the arbitration thrown out on Monday – even though she represented herself, pro se, for most of the proceedings.
Her win could be significant for corporate policy nationwide, as it could serve to chill the overuse of arbitration which is seen by most observers as giving disproportionate power to companies in labor disputes. However, given the nature of the court’s recent finding, which was found to be a jurisdictional issue, this decision may not be directly applicable to many other arbitration cases.
Now, Balan wants to face Tesla in open court with her case, and hopes to bring more of her story to the public – which she says Musk has tried to stop her from doing, despite his claims of being a “free speech absolutist.”
She said so in an interview this weekend with The Times UK, a media organization owned by climate denier Rupert Murdoch, who is also the father of James Murdoch, a Tesla boardmember.
In the interview, Balan describes working conditions under Musk, and that he was a mostly-absent CEO who only showed up to the office twice a month, would threaten or retaliate against those who tried to fix problems. She says that she wants to take her case to open court “to prove how vindictive this monster is. He’s pure evil… he’s enjoying hurting people… and you don’t know about them because he’s forcing everybody to give up their freedom of speech and their right to sue.”
You can watch the whole interview below:
Electrek’s Take
We haven’t written about Balan’s case before because it’s been such a long time coming, and filled with various arcane legal wranglings. There will likely be more steps to come, many of which are boring legal maneuvers, but perhaps this case will now have a chance to go more public now that the arbitration decision has been thrown out.
And, frankly, I think the initial complaint over floor mats was probably not all that significant of a blockbuster. At the time, floor mats were getting a lot of focus due to the high-profile nature of the Toyota case (which was also overstated), so I think Balan’s team was probably more wary than usual. And we didn’t go on to see a slate of floor mat problems with the Model S in the time since.
However, Tesla’s response to bringing up the safety issue is still unacceptable (to say the least). Not only were all employees told to take steps like this to get problems solved by the CEO himself, but the strong-arm nature of a quick firing in response, and then threatening her team with deportation is beyond the pale.
While we only have Balan’s words as evidence for the deportation threat, we have since seen Musk take vindictive actions against entire teams, and seen his anti-immigrant attitudes including the desire to deport people illegally.
Recently Musk fired the entire supercharger team, in what was probably the dumbest business decision Tesla has ever made, reportedly because Rebecca Tinucci, a star of the auto industry and the head of the most successful team in Tesla, refused to fire more people.
(Incidentally, another longtime Tesla exec who was fired at the same time as the whole Supercharger team, Daniel Ho, had previously praised Balan, saying “without creative engineers like you, this place would be just another car company”)
And Musk is also the largest financial backer of an administration that is currently illegally deporting US citizens to a prison famous for beatings, overcrowding and food deprivation that some have called a place to “dispose of people without formally applying the death penalty.”
He has spent much of his public advocacy in recent years showing racist and anti-immigrant attitudes, including support for German neo-Nazis and agreeing with a defense of Hitler’s actions in the Holocaust. He’s focused more on pushing his white supremacist views than on anything to do with EVs and climate change (which he’s now pushing denial of), thus working against Tesla’s mission.
So, making deportation threats against immigrants does not seem out of character, despite Musk being a formerly “illegal” immigrant himself.
Either way, we look forward to hearing more about this case as it goes on, in the hopes that it can both elucidate more for the public what the real Elon Musk is like, and possibly do something to reduce, ever so slightly, the abuse of the arbitration system by companies.
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File this under “wishful thinking” if you want, but a fresh trademark filing for the Buick Electra name could mean that the storied nameplate is set for a return to US shores.
GM Authority reports that Buick parent company General Motors has renewed its trademark for the Buick Electra name in the US in a filing from 09DEC2025 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and received an assigned serial number 99538079. The application carries a Goods and Services of, “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles.”
Electra a nameplate that holds a long history with the near-luxe Buick brand and has generally been believed to be one that’s especially relevant to Buick’s electrification strategy in the US. That’s a notion that seems especially true when you consider the following two facts:
- the Buick Electra nameplate is already featured on a number of hugely successful GM products being sold in the ultra-competitive Chinese market
- 2027 is the fortieth anniversary of the Buick Grand National, and GM’s marketers are way too smart to let that moment slide
It’s worth noting, of course, that this most recent renewal for the Buick Electra trademark is a long, long way from a confirmation of a new all-electric Buick for the US market and even further from a confirmation that we’re getting the hot, sexy Electra GM sells in China. If anything, it’s likely just a matter of course legal thing that GM needs to protect its IP in China while, at the same time, preventing some kind of disastrous Sierra Mist scenario from playing out at home (which– yeah, I get that it’s not true, but you got the idea).
That said, I want to believe.
Electrek’s Take
I’m a huge fan of GM, GM’s EVs, and the way Mary Barra has managed the General over the past several years. I also think a big, sexy sedan is sorely missing from GM’s lineup, and the fast, flashy electric sedan formula might play better at the Buick store than at the Cadillac brand.
Combine that with an overwhelming desire to see a new-age Buick Grand National parked in my garage next Christmas and you can see that I’m not to be trusted. So, what say you? Head on down to the comments and let us know what you think of an American Electra revival just in time for the 2027 model year.
SOURCE | IMAGES: GM Authority; GM.
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Heavy equipment giants Caterpillar have signed an agreement with Vale that will see the company dramatically expand its fleet of autonomous haul trucks deployed at iron ore operations in the Carajás region of Brazil over the next three years.
Vale’s Northern System mining operation currently has 14 CAT, 320-ton autonomous haul trucks in service. With this new deal, sold by Caterpillar’s Brazilian dealer, Sotreq, the autonomous haul truck fleet will expand to some ninety (!) of the massive, self-driving trucks by 2028. The big yellow trucks will be operated by CAT®, MineStar™ Command for hauling, and ship with a payload capacity of between 240 to an almost unimaginable 400 (!!) tons.
“We’re proud to introduce Cat Command for hauling at Vale’s Carajás site,” says Marc Cameron, Senior Vice President at Caterpillar. “By equipping Vale’s haul trucks with our autonomous technology, we will be delivering scalable solutions that meet their needs across a mixed fleet.”
CAT says this new deal represents, “a transformational leap,” citing the fact that autonomous trucks remove workers from hazardous areas and enable safer and more inclusive environments for mine employees – and more efficient operations for Vale.
That fact is backed by results from other Vale operations that have deployed large numbers of autonomous vehicles, which saw gains of up to 15% in operational performance and a 7.5% reduction in fuel use (more with electric drive), contributing to the reduction of the company’s carbon emissions. And, because this is end-stage capitalism 2025, they’re crediting AI for discovering those efficiencies.
“By integrating autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and advanced data analysis, we are modernizing our mining operations in the Northern Corridor, becoming a global benchmark in smart mining, promoting the transformation of the industry, and connecting us to international best practices,” says Rafael Bittar, Vale Vice President, Technical.
The trucks will be delivered over the next three years, and are expected to be in full operation and up to speed by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
As I’ve said before, EVs and mining to together like peanut butter and jelly. In confined spaces, the carbon emissions and ear-splitting noise made by conventional, ICE-powered mining equipment can create dangerous circumstances that can lead to serious injuries (or worse), and that’s just going to make it even harder for a mining operation to keep people working and minerals coming out of the ground.
By working with companies like Caterpillar to prove that forward-looking electric equipment can do the job as well as well as (if not better than) their internal combustion counterparts, Vale will go a long way towards converting what’s left of the ICE faithful.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Vale, Caterpillar.
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Electric medium-duty startups Motive and Workhorse have logged millions of miles across their customer fleets — and by joining forces, they’re out to prove, once and for all, that electric vehicles can get the job done.
Following shareholder votes last month, Ohio-based Workhorse and San Francisco-based Motive are merging to form one of the largest commercial electric vehicle and last-mile delivery telematics solutions companies in the industry.
The all-stock transaction, announced last week, values the combined company at approximately $105 million and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to Workhorse shareholder approval.
Under the terms of the agreement, Motiv’s controlling investor will become the majority owner with approximately 62.5% of the combined company, while Workhorse shareholders will maintain a significant equity stake of approximately 26.5%.
The move is intended to combine Workhorse’ manufacturing capabilities and nationwide dealer network with Motiv’s proven product portfolio and existing fleet relationships to serve the growing $23 billion medium-duty truck segment with a full range of Class 4-6 electric vehicles that plays to the strengths of both companies while, at the same time, proving them with economies of scale they’ll need to survive the next wave of fake “the EV market is dead” headlines.
“Bringing together two leading OEMs in the medium-duty space strengthens our ability to reduce the cost of electric trucks and make the total cost of ownership even more compelling,” said Scott Griffith, CEO of Motiv, who will lead the combined company. “We believe this is a coming-of-age moment — not just for Motiv and Workhorse, but for the industry as a whole.”
The companies anticipate a minimum of $20 million in cost synergies by the end of 2026 through reductions in redundant R&D, G&A, and facility costs (and, of course, the associated layoffs).
Workhorse’s Union City facility has the capacity to eventually produce up to 5,000 trucks per year — a significant manufacturing scale for the merged operation and light years ahead of what Motiv’s existing facilities can crank out.
“This transaction represents a significant milestone for Workhorse, our customers, our stakeholders and our shareholders,” Rick Dauch, CEO of Workhorse and advisor to the new, combined company told FreightWaves. “We believe Motiv is the right partner to support the advancement of our combined product roadmap and capture new growth opportunities.”
The new, combined electric box van company will being life with 10 of the largest medium-duty fleets in North America as existing customers, and hopes to expand their line of offerings into the electric bus and RV markets in the years to come.
Electrek’s Take
Workhorse and Motive can spin this merger however they like — but this move is as much about survival in the new, incentive-lite era of Trump 2 than it is about anything else. That doesn’t mean it’s not a smart move, as each of the parts of this new whole has eliminated a very strong competitor while, at the same time, gaining all at least some of their best features.
As cynical as I am about corporate consolidation and layoffs (especially during the holidays), I can’t help but think this could be a winning move.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Workhorse; via FreightWaves.
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