Featured Image Credit: Chris Unger / Contributor / Getty
Ever since Elon Musk stepped into the role of 'First Buddy' for President Donald Trump, things have taken a sharp turn for Tesla.
The world's richest man has been busy in his new government role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Tasked with slashing $2 trillion in the federal budget, the team have pulled funding for cancer research and NASA missions and put nearly 300,000 federal workers on the unemployment line.
Meanwhile, Tesla dealerships have taken a hit from worldwide protests and vandalism while its sales have hit an all-time low.
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Investors have reached a point asking for CEO Musk to step down, arguing he’s more focused on his political agenda than running his companies, which they believe could turn Tesla into a political symbol.
Now the electric car maker is being accused of providing 'a myriad of procedural reasons it has not paid' over $2,000,000 million it owes for fuel deliveries.
Houston-based Sun Coast Resources, which operates in 49 US states, accuses Tesla of 'refusing to pay' for its fuel deliveries that reportedly date back more than two years.
“While Tesla designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and battery energy storage devices, it required the use of heavy equipment, which required diesel, gasoline and other fuel products, to construct its new Texas facility,” the company’s complaint stated.
The fuel provider says it started delivering fuel products to Tesla’s Texas facility back in August 2020 under a master services agreement.
“Tesla's only reason for not paying Sun Coast is that Sun Coast has allegedly not complied with its requirements for invoice submittals,” Sun Coast added. “To the contrary, Sun Coast has jumped through all of Tesla's proverbial hoops and provided all the documentation Tesla has requested, often multiple times, and Tesla continues to delay and make excuses as to why it has not paid for products that it knows it received.”
The complaint points to a chaotic infrastructure of Tesla that's causing the issues to be pawned off from person to person 'who only conjures up some new reason as to why Tesla has not paid.'
According to the lawsuit, Tesla paid Sun Coast over $20.7 million for fuel between August 2020 and August 2024.
However, Tesla did not pay for all of the fuel delivered by Sun Coast, and has seemingly racked up a list of justifications for its failure to pay the $2,638,777, as per the company complaint.
“Most recently, Sun Coast and its counsel had a joint call with numerous Tesla representatives and its counsel,” the complaint stated.
Sun Coast 'once again… walked the Tesla representatives through the information to show that it has the necessary back up for its invoices to be paid.”
The fuel provider explained that even though Tesla 'never denied receiving the fuel,' they promised to respond 'within days to the information Sun Coast provided and pay at least some of the invoices.' That said, Sun Coast are still awaiting he electric car giant to hand over the money.
