Lucasz Krupski comes from Poland, but in 2018 got a job as a car mechanic at Tesla in Drammen. His job was to prepare the cars for Norwegian consumers. He was a big fan of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and was very excited to be allowed to work at the company. One of the engaging things was being able to be part of “the green shift”. – It felt as if Mr. Musk was a very good leader, says Krupski. Later, something would happen that made him think through his relationship with the car giant, which for years has been among the best-selling cars in Norway. In 2023, Tesla is back in first place for new cars sold in Norway. Photo: MIKE BLAKE / Reuters Tesla caught fire At the end of March 2019, the Tesla 3 had just arrived in Norway. But at a fairground in Lillestrøm, things went wrong. One of the new cars which was connected to an emergency starter caught fire. Behind some curtains nearby were many customers. Krupsi stood only one meter away, reached into the burning car and disconnected the faulty charger. – I got burns, blisters on the inside of my hand, but luckily I didn’t get permanent damage. Krupski’s burned hand after he pulled out a burning charging cable to prevent a larger fire when a Tesla 3 caught fire. Photo: private Krupski became the hero of the day. The following Monday, he surprisingly received a personal email from Elon Musk, thanking Krupski for “saving the day”. – It felt very good, he says. Krupski was sent this thank-you email from the Tesla boss after the incident at Lillestrøm. Photo: screenshot Musk wrote that he would like to hear what Krupski thought Tesla could improve on. And there were many things Krupski believed the company could improve when it came to fire safety. But when he started to list, it quickly became quiet from Musk. Krupsi experienced going from being the great hero to being perceived as an internal threat. – The boss asked me to stop sending emails to Musk. And that I had to go through him before I sent more emails. Two weeks later, he was told that the company would terminate his employment. Krupski contacted a lawyer and was allowed to keep his job. It would turn out that the problems had only just begun. Krupski was put to work alone and at the same time exposed to what he himself believes are unjustified accusations. The company is said to have claimed, among other things, that Krupski should have tried to provoke his own dismissal, in order to get NOK 100,000. They also claimed that he allegedly tried to run over people on purpose. The car mechanic was on sick leave for a period, but eventually returned. news has tried to get Tesla to respond to the accusations, but they have not responded to our inquiries. “Tesla Files” Krupski says he tried to report the security problems internally within the organization, but claims he was not heard. He continued to work at the company, but the story does not end there. Towards the end of 2021, he became aware that, as an ordinary service technician, he had access to huge amounts of data about the company. It was about everything from contractual relationships to sensitive personal data. Also about Elon Musk personally. At first he was troubled by the lack of privacy. That he, as an ordinary car mechanic in the company, had such access to data. Eventually he became preoccupied with other things in the material. He saw that there were many complaints from Tesla owners connected who used the car’s self-driving features. – There were lots of complaints about “phantom braking” and unintended acceleration. The Tesla owners who used the cars’ autopilot function experienced that the cars suddenly braked or accelerated, for no reason. And that the company often solved problems without being honest with customers. Tesla 3 has technology that allows it to drive itself, but the driver sometimes has to touch the steering wheel. Photo: MIKE BLAKE / Reuters With recent experience of how it would go if he notified internally, Krupski chose this time to notify several public bodies in the United States about what he had seen. He also notified the Data Protection Authority in Norway. At the same time, Telsa chose to dismiss its Polish service technician. His last day at the company was March 31, 2022. In addition to notifying the authorities, Krupski contacted the German newspaper Handelsblatt and shared 100 GB of data from Tesla with them. After working with the data for half a year, in May of this year they published a major revelation under the heading “Tesla Files 100GB data”. Dagens Næringsliv wrote about the leaks in November. Krupski was also recently interviewed by the BBC. – I am deeply concerned, says Krupski now to news. – Tesla has been an incredibly popular car in Norway. Many drive around in a Tesla. Is it dangerous? – I feel that it is. It was hard for me to admit that because I loved my job and was dedicated to the company. In 2023, Tesla is back in first place for new cars sold in Norway. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Several have suspected that Tesla’s technology for self-driving cars is not safe. In the USA, several police officers have taken legal action against the car manufacturer, after a Tesla X on autopilot drove straight into several parked emergency vehicles. US authorities are still investigating several such clashes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spoken warmly about the company’s self-driving technology. At the latest last Saturday, he said this on X/Twitter: – Tesla has the best artificial intelligence in the real world. Receives whistleblower award This week, Krupsi received an international freedom of expression award, the 2023 Blueprint Whistleblowing Prizes, for what he has done. In the justification, they emphasize that Krupski has exposed security failures at Telsa, in addition to the fact that they have a corporate culture that tries to keep this away from the public. Krupski still lives in Norway. Tesla has threatened to take legal action against his former service technician, but he does not know if anything will come of it. news has tried to get in touch with the law firm representing Tesla in the lawsuit, without getting a response. – Do you regret notifying about what is happening in Tesla? – We’ll see, concludes Krupski.
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Mechanic from Norwegian Tesla workshop praised for warning about self-driving cars – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
