Walmart Lawsuit Claims Tesla Solar Panels Caused Fires at Seven Stores

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

The company says it sustained $8 million dollars in damages because of the fires.

Walmart recently filed a lawsuit in New York state court against Tesla’s solar subsidiary, known as Solar City at the time of installation.  The suit claims that the solar panels caused fires on seven of their stores, causing merchandise losses of $6 million.  They also are accusing Tesla of “widespread negligence” that led to the fires.

The company said in the lawsuit, “As of November 2018, no fewer than seven Walmart stores had experienced fires due to Tesla’s solar system.” The systems were installed on more than 200 stores but are not being used currently.

The complaint continues, “Tesla has also demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to remediate the dangerous conditions documented in its inspection reports.”

According to Business Insider, Walmart said in the complaint that it “leased or licensed roof space at more than 240 stores for Tesla-supplied solar energy systems.”

Tesla acquired Solar City in 2016 after they had already negotiated deals with Walmart. A 2014 Solar City press release states that the company had already completed 200 installations on Walmart stores. According to a report on Reuters, Walmart alleges that Tesla was negligent in not fixing problems it inherited when it bought Solar City.

After the fires, which ranged from 2012 – 2018, both Walmart and Tesla jointly investigated the sites. Reuters reported that the inspections found hotspots in the solar panels cracked sheets which compromises the electrical insulation and blamed Tesla for not properly hiring, training or supervising its contractors.

Walmart received 29 inspection reports from Tesla that identified 157 action items, 48 of them were conditions that made the site unsafe, such as “improper wiring, poor grounding, and broken solar panels with ‘hotspots’.”

Walmart’s lawsuit states that “Tesla has not reacted with the urgency that one would expect from a company that had installed solar panels that were catching on fire. Far from it: Tesla’s cavalier responses have only confirmed Walmart’s worries that its contractual counterparty is incapable of providing maintenance and inspection services sufficient to ensure the safety of Walmart’s customers, employees and property.”

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Photo credit: Court filing