A trade union member was detained by police at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide on Tuesday after the company said he was caught recording a private works council meeting.
Tesla’s Grünheide factory head, Andre Thierig, posted on Elon Musk’s X platform that an external IG Metall representative attended an internal works council meeting and “for unknown reasons” began recording. Thierig said Tesla called the police and filed a criminal complaint.
IG Metall — Germany’s largest metalworkers’ union — disputed Tesla’s account. The IG Metall Tesla Workers GFBB group on the factory’s works council called the company’s version “a malicious and a calculated lie,” saying the events resembled “a rigged game.” The group said a works council member representing Tesla interrupted the meeting, called police and factory security, and that the laptop purportedly used for recording was seized before the union representative could respond.
Local police confirmed they had opened a case after Tesla pressed charges and that they had secured possible evidence for examination. A police spokesman said the next steps would need to be coordinated with public prosecutors.
The incident comes ahead of works council elections scheduled for March 2-4 at the Grünheide plant, which opened in 2022 and employs around 11,000 people. IG Metall has representation on the works council but does not hold a majority. The factory is not considered a unionized workplace in the sense of having a collective bargaining agreement; Tesla opposes introducing a fixed pay scale.
Tesla has resisted unionization efforts globally and remains the only major US carmaker without recognized union representation in the United States, despite repeated attempts by unions and staff. Staff in Sweden have staged strikes seeking union representation, while reports from China have periodically alleged long hours, low pay and poor conditions; China’s system of company-supported unions often limits independent labor influence.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
