When one hears the word Tesla, the first thing that comes to mind is being in science class and being taught about electricity, and thinking, Why is the car company named after Nikola Tesla? Tesla Motors Inc. was founded on July 1st,2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. In 2004, Elon Musk became an early investor in Tesla, eventually becoming its CEO. Tesla cars run on electricity as opposed to gasoline, making them friendly to the environment since they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Recently, there have been several problems with the cars that Tesla manufactures. Could Elon Musk be more interested in making a sale than in the safety of the car?
Ethical concerns of Tesla:
With every car that is manufactured, it is tested multiple times for safety issues. You’ve probably seen a video or two back in the day of car companies testing their cars with dummies in the passenger and driver’s seat to test for airbag deployment to ensure that if that vehicle makes it to a family buying it, the airbag will save them. According to Tesla.com, their vehicles are manufactured in the following bases: California, Nevada, New York, Shanghai, Texas, Berlin, Kato, and Lanthrop.
- Safety Concern
Tesla, while friendly to the environment, is not so friendly for the consumer to choose. Among the many safety concerns of Tesla cars is battery safety. A battery, over time, can cause corrosion or explode if overheated, the same way you wouldn’t leave your car running in the garage during winter for warmth because of carbon monoxide poisoning. A battery can cause a fire, and even the charging unit for the car can cause a fire. “The fire on Monday, July 21, in Lewisville, Texas, was started by the car charger device in the garage,” spokesman Matt Martucci said, adding that the “intense” flames primarily damaged a second vehicle – a Lexus parked inside the garage — and the upper floors of the home.”(Wallace,2025). What would happen to the passenger driving a Tesla if it caught on fire? Would the passenger survive or die? “the Cybertruck is “defectively designed” because a driver cannot open the door to escape once the electric power is lost. It also claims that Tesla doesn’t provide adequate training or warnings to help occupants escape their vehicles after crashes.”(Ochs,2025)
All of these incidents could have been avoided if Tesla had run some tests and come up with solutions to help their consumers, then the driver who couldn’t open his Cybertruck burned to death; now Tesla is facing a lawsuit. There are solutions to the countless problems in vehicles. When the Cybertruck first came out, several of them were recalled. Did Tesla not run enough tests before releasing to the consumer to buy?
2. Environmental Impact
While the goal of Tesla is to help the environment with its cars, let’s not forget how manufacturing plants have been run since the Industrial Revolution. Manufacturing plants require electricity, and while Tesla manages to run its manufacturing plants on solar panels, one can’t help but wonder if Tesla’s manufacturing bases are good for our environment. “In 2022, Tesla published its 2021 Impact Report, in which it disclosed its greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and the charging of its electric vehicles. Based on this data, the company’s carbon footprint was 2.54 million tons of carbon dioxide.” (LeLourec,2023) If Tesla cars are able to be good for the environment, shouldn’t the employees and board of Tesla Motors Inc. be looking for solutions to help the environment, as opposed to releasing greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing plant? Solutions are possible. Greenwashing your company by creating a product that’s good for the environment earns you points with people who care about the environment; however, if your company’s yearly report states that you released millions of tons of carbon dioxide, you are not being truthful with the consumers who are interested in your product.
Legal Issues of Tesla:
Anything that happens within a brand normally does not stay within the brand. The consumer can always sue the brand if they realize or notice that the business is at fault for something they have created. A vehicle provides airbags, but if the airbags were not tested before installation by the company, then the company is at fault for whatever happens when the vehicle leaves the car lot. The business, if taken to court, can opt out of a jury and pay what the party is asking for to avoid trial. Anything having to do with legal issues within a company can bring a company’s stock down if applicable.
- Product Liability issues
We all know not to text and drive, while I dont drive yet, I was taught several times not to text and drive, my local Ford dealership even had a do not text and drive scholarship.’ I particularly remember an assembly my freshman year of high school where the projector screen of the gymnasium came down, there were police officers everywhere, and we saw a student-made video of the consequences of drinking while driving. The students in the video going to a liquour store and being denied the sale of liquor, the students found a way to buy the liquor buy having someonse going into the store buy it for them, the teens then got in the car with the liquor that was purchased by someone else and were drinking in the car, the car crashed. The video ended, and the officers in the gymnasium told us to evacuate outside for the remainder of the segment. When i got outside i was front and center watching the students reenactment of the crash, one teen through the windshiled, the driver beside the car alive but disoriented, the backseat passenger had his/her head against the glass of the back window, then i heard the scariest noise possible the sound of the fire engine, the EMT’s/firefighters arrived the passengers in the reenactment dead, the lone survivor the driver. Everyone watching stood in shockingly quiet. We knew that if that was a real situation, she was done for, going to prison, her life would never be the same.
While Tesla has created an autopilot feature within their vehicles, I view it the same as texting and driving. We study and take a driver’s test for a reason, for us to be the driver, not some fancy feature in the car. The autopilot feature gives those who own one the ability to do something other than driving. You might as well give me a Tesla for free without the need for a driver’s license. We have to view the autopilot in the same way as AI developing within technology apps. Tesla states that the autopilot should be used under the driver’s supervision, but if the driver is busy with other tasks while autopilot is on, then the driver and the company are at fault for providing an autopilot feature in their cars. I would recommend that Tesla remove the Autopilot feature from all their vehicles, so that the consumer wouldn’t be tempted to use it. “In Miami federal court, Tesla is preparing for trial in the first third-party wrongful death case tied to its autopilot system. The lawsuit concerns a 2019 crash in the Florida Keys where a Tesla Model S, driven by George McGee with autopilot engaged, collided with a stationary Chevrolet Tahoe. The impact caused the Tahoe to fatally strike pedestrian Naibel Benavides Leon.” (Weidman,2025)
2. Workplace Safety
When we are hired by our employers, we assume that the employer has our best interests at heart. For example, I am a pharmacy technician, before that i was a cashier working close to 35 to 40 hour weeks and earning $7.65 an hour, by my next paycheck working for Walmart I was making $9.00 an hour, I eventually put my transfer in 6 months later to the pharmacy since I was in college at the time and couldnt focus on my studies due to clocking in at 4 pm and clocking out anywhere between 11 pm and 12 am, and being back in school by 8 am, the management in charge of the cashier’s didnt have my best interests at heart. When I transferred to the pharmacy, I was in a welcoming environment, while not making a lot of money straightaway. As of now, im making $24.93 an hour, have health insurance, paid time off, a 401 (k) that I contribute to, and the company matches 6%, and the company is paying for my tuition. However, the most important thing is that in the pharmacy we follow guidlines that keep us safe thanks mostly to the Texas Board of Pharmacy since we are required to train every two years to renew our certification and we learn about OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration), this is to ensure that the drugs we are counting dont cause us any harm, especially since we fill from time to time hazardous drugs needed for chemotherapy, hormonal drugs, antiviral drugs, immunosuppresant drugs.
When thinking about OSHA in a manufacturing plant, you would assume they follow guidelines to keep their employees safe, since certain chemicals that can be used may be deadly and or cause harm if not handled properly. The factory worker would have to wear personal protective equipment(PPE) to keep themselves safe, and the business should be able to provide this to the employees themselves. If a business is at fault for the safety of their employees, not only do they not care, but they can also be held liable. The employer should be able to offer PPE to their employees to keep them safe. The business should care about the people who work hard every day to see them succeed, not cut corners. “After discovering that four employees at the Austin site had been exposed to dangerous chemicals without the appropriate training or safety precautions, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalized Tesla close to $7,000 in November 2024″(Rhodes,2025). There are more issues that the consumer should know about. As an employee myself, I wouldn’t want to work for a company that cares very little for its employees.
Conclusion:
As an employee myself, I wouldn’t want to work for a company that cares very little about the safety and well-being of its employees. As a consumer, if I were to ever get my driver’s license and had enough money to afford a luxury vehicle, it wouldn’t be Tesla. For a company that cares about the environment, they need to re-evaluate the ideals within the company that care about the environment and find solutions and alternative sources to be able to manufacture their cars without contributing to carbon emissions and potentially fossil fuels within the manufacturing plants. Tesla also needs to focus on the safety of their consumers. There are devices that are able to help people escape from cars in case they crash into a pond or lake. Tesla may want to enhance and test multiple ways to enhance the safety of the consumer in case a fire were to start in the car. I remember seeing a TikTok or Instagram video of a family test driving a Tesla and they had stopped to swithc places and the baby got locked in the car with the key inside the car, that’s a parents worst nightmare, the air condition was running in the car so the child was not going to be overheated, but the parents couldn’t get a hold of Tesla to open the car from their headquarters, the fire department had to break open the window and the baby was safe, the parents ended the video stating they wouldn’t be purchasing the Tesla. Consumers nowadays pay attention to news articles and social media for recommendations.
References:
LeLourec, M. (2023, December 7). Tesla and Greenwashing. The GW Point Source. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://blogs.gwu.edu/law-gwpointsource/2023/12/07/tesla-and-greenwashing/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20Tesla%20published%20its%202021%20Impact,was%202.54%20million%20tons%20of%20carbon%20dioxide.
Ochs, A. (2025, July 19). Tesla faces lawsuit after man dies in burning Cybertruck: ‘Defectively designed’. Yahoo News. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/tesla-faces-lawsuit-man-dies-113042872.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALnuwiT3KuoYhieN-GUZx9Url4k4ypvQdo6kYloN06CJ6KagwQ_OnL-9PZh_meGXwpR4wfiZt6cUExIp1tRyBIkR7IXS6ZLWDSYgJlIq0qgpi8BtlkpaTO8R_1X4NyeRNQUqwvfW7uoSCg33Fj7fD4Dtevaj-GQB7RL06GbG1Voa
Rhodes, C. (2025, March 30). Human Rights Concerns at Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory. UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2025/03/30/human-rights-concerns-at-teslas-texas-gigafactory/#:~:text=From%20workplace%20safety%20violations%20to,example%20for%20ethical%20corporate%20practices
Wallace, D., & Chu, B. (2025, July 22). Tesla charging unit sparks massive inferno in Texas garage, severely damaging home, officials say. Fox News. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://www.foxnews.com/us/tesla-charging-unit-sparks-massive-inferno-texas-garage-severely-damaging-home-officials-say
Weidman, C. P. (2025, July 14). Tesla Faces Legal Battles Over Vehicle Fires and Autopilot-Related Fatalities. The National Law Review. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://natlawreview.com/article/tesla-faces-legal-battles-over-vehicle-fires-and-autopilot-related-fatalities#:~:text=Tesla%20Inc.%2C%20a%20leading%20innovator,in%20deaths%20and%20serious%20injuries.
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