Tesla says journalist ran into security guards with car on Gigafactory grounds

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Last Friday morning, a photographer for the Reno Gazette-Journal in Nevada, as well as another RGJ employee allegedly trespassed on Tesla Motor s Gigafactory grounds . As the two tried to flee, Tesla says the photographer drove a Jeep into two security guards.

According to the Storey County Sheriff s Office, the photographer, Jose Andrews Barron, age 59, was arrested by deputies and taken to the local detention centre where he was held for felony battery and trespassing, with a $30,000 ( 20,000) bail.

In a blog post today¹, Tesla wrote that the two journalists were spotted taking photos of the Gigafactory, which is still under construction . The responding security guard called for back up and alerted the Sheriff s Department and then approached the two people .

According to Tesla, the guard “asked their names and notified them that they were trespassing on Tesla property . They refused to provide their names, despite the Reno Gazette Journal ( RGJ ) ID credentials hanging from their pockets . They also denied that they were trespassing even though they had climbed through a fence designated with ‘private property’ signs.”

Then Tesla alleges that all three people went back to the journalists Jeep, where they were met by another security guard and asked to wait until the Sheriff s department arrived. RGJ, reporting on its own journalist s arrest², wrote this weekend that Barron tried to drive away and either hit or almost hit one or more of the security officers .

Tesla alleged that the security guard tried to record the license plate off the rear bumper of the car, but Barron put the car in reverse and accelerated, knocking the security guard over.

Tesla says that as the two journalists continued their flight, they struck an ATV with at least one security guard in it . The guard then apparently tried to approach the Jeep, but according to the electric car company, “the driver of the Jeep accelerated into him, striking him in the waist.

A detail in RGJ s account that didn t make it into Tesla s: “The newspaper s vehicle was damaged in the altercation . A rock had been used to shatter the driver s-side window and the driver s-side seat belt had been cut in half .

The Storey County Sheriff told the paper that he could not confirm how the damage had occurred.

RGJ did not return Ars request for comment, but wrote over the weekend that Barron had been employed with the paper as a photographer since 1998 . Tesla wrote, “We appreciate the interest in the Gigafactory, but the repeated acts of trespassing, including by those working for the RGJ, is illegal, dangerous and needs to stop.” A Tesla spokesperson would not comment to Ars about other trespassing incidents.

Tesla s $5 billion ( 3.3 billion) Gigafactory, which will produce lithium batteries for Tesla s electric vehicles, will have a dramatic impact on the region once fully operational . Tesla has already secured deals³ with two major companies to develop mines⁴ for the production of lithium .

A portion of the factory could come online as early as 2016.

This post originated on Ars Technica⁵

References

1. ^{^} In a blog post today (www.teslamotors.com)
2. ^{^} RGJ, reporting on its own journalist s arrest (www.rgj.com)
3. ^{^} secured deals (arstechnica.com)
4. ^{^} develop mines (arstechnica.com)
5. ^{^} Ars Technica (arstechnica.com)

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