A photographer from a local Reno newspaper was arrested last week after an altercation with security guards at Tesla s Gigafactory in Nevada.
The electric vehicle company released its version Tuesday, saying two journalists from the Reno Gazette-Journal were confronted on Tesla property while taking pictures. The journalist did not cooperate with security guards, according to Tesla. The company reported that two security guards were struck and injured by the newspaper vehicle (a gas-powered Jeep).
The newspaper scooped the EV company, reporting the altercation on Friday, the day of the incident.
The publisher of the Gazette-Journal said the paper is investigating and taking the incident very seriously.
According to the newspaper report, the newspaper Jeep was damaged – a rock shattered the driver s side window and the driver s seat belt had been sliced. The photographer, Andy Barron, was charged with battery. Barron has been a photojournalist at the paper since 1998.
The under-construction Gigafactory has been a focus of local and national media coverage. The $5 billion lithium-ion battery factory is expected to create 6,500 jobs in the state. It s also received a promise from Nevada lawmakers of up to $1.25 billion in tax incentives over 20 years, or roughly $190,000 of taxpayer funding for each job.
Photo: Tesla s proposed Gigafactory in the Nevada desert (Courtesy of Tesla)
The post Bloody confrontation at Tesla Gigafactory? appeared first on SiliconBeat.
