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Tesla files complaint against union member for secretly recording works council meeting, memo shows

By Thomson Reuters Feb 10, 2026 | 10:36 AM

FRANKFURT/BERLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Tesla has filed a criminal complaint against a member ‍of Germany’s IG Metall trade union for secretly recording a works council meeting that took place at its plant ‌near Berlin on ‌Tuesday, according to a memo to staff seen by Reuters.

Tesla confirmed the contents of the memo, which ​marks the latest low point in a fraught ‍relationship between IG ​Metall and the ​U.S. electric vehicle maker.

An IG ‍Metall representative was not immediately available for comment.

The external IG Metall member at the meeting had attended as ‍a guest and then started recording with his computer, Andre Thierig, manager ‍of ‍Tesla’s Gruenheide plant, ​said in the memo.

Tesla ​said ⁠that a works ‌council meeting is a non-public event and that recording it constituted a criminal offence.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Christina AmannEditing by ⁠David Goodman)