Brooke Jenkins, a prosecutor for the San Francisco area, said on February 1st local time that Tesla will pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed earlier this week in 25 counties in California, accusing Tesla of mishandling hazardous waste.
Jenkins said in a statement, "Although electric vehicles may be beneficial to the environment, their manufacturing and maintenance still generate a lot of hazardous waste. Today's settlement agreement with Tesla will prevent the pollution of our precious natural resources due to poor management and illegal disposal of hazardous waste, providing a cleaner environment for citizens across the state."
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday local time accuses Tesla of mishandling, transporting, and disposing of hazardous materials, including engine oil, lead-acid batteries, antifreeze, and diesel, at up to 101 locations throughout the state. As part of the settlement agreement, Tesla was ordered to pay a civil fine of $1.3 million and $200000 to pay for investigation fees that began in 2018. Tesla must also comply with the ban and handle hazardous materials properly within 5 years.