Tesla has filed a criminal complaint against an external representative of Germany’s IG Metall trade union following an incident at its Giga Berlin factory, escalating a long-running dispute between the automaker and labor organizers weeks before works council elections.
The episode occurred during a works council meeting on Tuesday, where Tesla accused the union official of secretly recording a confidential session. Police were called to the facility, detained the individual and seized a laptop as potential evidence, authorities said. Prosecutors will determine the next steps in the investigation.
Andre Thierig, managing director of Tesla’s German plant in Grünheide, described the situation as unprecedented. “What has happened today at Giga Berlin is truly beyond words! An external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting. For unknown reasons he recorded the internal meeting and was caught in action! We obviously called police and filed a criminal complaint!” Thierig wrote on social media platform X.
IG Metall denied the allegation and accused Tesla of distorting events. In a statement posted by the union’s works council group on Facebook, it called the company’s account false. “This assertion is both a malicious and a calculated lie,” the group said, adding that the representative was not given an opportunity to respond before security and police intervened.
Jan Otto, head of IG Metall’s district organization, also rejected the claim and criticized Tesla’s management. “To influence elections with fictitious accusations reminds us of the actions of authoritarian regime,” he said, adding that union officials had been routinely invited to attend works council meetings since the previous election.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between Tesla and IG Metall, which has long sought collective bargaining arrangements and standardized pay structures at the site. While the union holds seats on the works council, the factory does not operate under a formal collective agreement.
Works council elections at the Grünheide facility are scheduled for March 2–4, a vote that will determine employee representation at one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle plants.
