Tesla is accusing a Texas supplier of holding key Cybertruck manufacturing equipment for ransom, demanding $250,000 per week to release tooling that Tesla says it already owns.
According to court documents reviewed by Bloomberg Law, Angstrom Automotive Group LLC informed Tesla on July 13 that it planned to close its facility in Troy, Texas.
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Tesla wanted to retrieve important tooling from the site before the closure, but Angstrom allegedly refused to release the equipment and instead demanded $250,000 per week, on top of any outstanding payments on existing purchase orders.
Legal Action Filed
Tesla filed a complaint on July 23 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division.
The automaker says its representatives arrived at Angstrom's facility on July 21 to collect the equipment but were turned away.
The filing claims the tooling at the site is used exclusively to manufacture Cybertruck parts, and each piece takes five to six months to build.
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Replacing the tooling outright is not practical, especially with Tesla still taking orders for the Cybertruck.
In the lawsuit, Tesla stated that without the tooling, it will be unable to manufacture several thousand Cybertrucks currently in or planned for production, most of which are already committed to customers.
The company added that a parts shortage of this nature would cause irreparable harm to Tesla and others, including the erosion of supplier and customer goodwill.
Tesla asserts that Angstrom has never owned the tooling at its facility, nor has it paid any amount toward the design, manufacture, or acquisition of the equipment.
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If Angstrom does not allow Tesla to retrieve the equipment, Tesla says it is entitled to obtain temporary or permanent injunctive relief or other equitable relief to retrieve the tooling without posting bond or proof of action, injury, or damage.
