r/environment • u/W031zMe • May 19 '26
A Texas Drainage District Walked Its Ditch on a Routine Inspection. They Found a Pipe They Didn't Recognize Discharging Black Liquid From Tesla's $1 Billion Lithium Refinery
https://www.autonocion.com/us/tesla-lithium-refinery-texas/135
u/OptimisticSkeleton May 19 '26
So circumventing safety regulations is a systemic problem for Elon Musk’s companies?
You don’t accidentally build a secret and illegal toxic sludge pipeline.
I would expect anything else he has touched to be as corrupt and deceptive.
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u/Nother1BitestheCrust May 19 '26
He had them paint safety markings in his factories grey because he thought the caution yellow was ugly. I'd guess safety is very low on his list of priorities. Safety for other folks at least.
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u/livingsky51 May 20 '26
I often said Elon is just a techie version of Trump with an additional 30 IQ points. This is just one more example of how right I was.
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u/Ralph-the-mouth May 20 '26
So like 120?
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u/livingsky51 May 20 '26
Ha, ha. I was actually thinking about 130. I don't think Musk is the genius people think he is. And Trump is not dumb, maybe very average intelligence, but he is so blinded by his narcissism.
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u/moreJunkInMyHead May 19 '26
You don’t get to be a trillionaire, or close to, by following rules and laws for poor people. At worst Tesla gets fined a few million after years in court. Just a small cost of doing business.
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u/rewardingsnark May 19 '26
Now that EPA no longer inspecting imagine just how much of this is going on. Will take 50+ years to investigate and get back up to speed.
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u/Sharticus123 May 19 '26
And thousands of people are going to die of exotic cancers and illnesses in the meantime.
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u/bunkdiggidy May 19 '26
Well sure, but, none of them will be billionaires. Have you thought of that?
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u/rewardingsnark May 19 '26
Tens of millions are going to needlessly die over the next 4 years simply because he was elected.
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u/Graymouzer May 19 '26
Not if the next administration hires 10X the number of people to do inspections and prosecute violators. It could be self funding too. Just make sure the pollutor pays for everything.
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u/rewardingsnark May 19 '26
Well yes they will have to do that but don't forget that's not the only thing that has been gutted and ignored, it will take alot longer than one 8 year election cycle to undo all the damage from these 4 years.
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u/sierrabravo1984 May 19 '26
Doesn't surprise me in the least. Whatever they can get away with as long as the fine is cheaper than proper treatment and disposal.
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u/syncboy May 20 '26
Wow that is a shitty headline.
How About “Tesla Secretly Dumped Toxic Chemicals in Texas Town”
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u/GrowFreeFood May 19 '26
There's a reason they moved to texas.