Tesla shares fall on news of new probe into workplace injury

  • Cal-OSHA reportedly opened a second probe into Tesla over an incident where a skid carrier struck a subcontractor's jaw.
  • Cal-OSHA had recently opened an investigation into Tesla's workplace injuries after a RevealNews.org report which said the electric-car maker is mislabeling and undercounting workplace injuries.

Tesla shares fell Friday after news of another California state government probe into a workplace injury was reported by Bloomberg.

A worker employed by subcontractor Automatic Systems reportedly broke his jaw when he was hit by a skid carrier at Tesla's assembly plant in Fremont, California.

Tesla shares were down 2.2 percent Friday afternoon.

CNBC was not able to independently confirm the report with California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or Cal-OSHA. However, Tesla did confirm an injury occurred.

Elon Musk
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Elon Musk

"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of those who work at Tesla every day," Tesla said in a statement sent to CNBC. "This injury involved a worker who had been hired by an independent contractor and was performing a procedure that had been developed by and was under the supervision of that contractor. This contractor was also responsible for reporting the injury, which they did. We take any injury very seriously, and we'll of course provide our full cooperation to Cal-OSHA."

The news comes days after Cal-OSHA said it was opening an investigation into workplace safety, after a report from RevealNews.org that said Tesla has mislabeled and undercounted injuries to make its safety record appear better than it is.

The electric-car maker disputed that report with a blog post on Monday.

Tesla is scrambling to ramp up production of the Model 3, a car Tesla is marketing as a more affordable alternative to its high-end electric vehicles. The company has repeatedly missed its own production targets. An email leaked earlier this week detailed CEO Elon Musk's plan to speed up production.