Reno Gazette-Journal photographer Andy Barron was booked for battery with a deadly weapon.
A Reno Gazette-Journal photographer was arrested last week after a run-in with security guards at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory site.
Andy Barron, who has worked with the Gazette-Journal for 17 years, was booked on a charge of battery with a deadly weapon, the paper reported.
According to Tesla, Barron and a Gazette-Journal reporter who was with him will also be charged with trespassing. The Storey County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla said Barron and his colleague were caught snapping photos of the factory Friday morning.
"They refused to provide their names, despite the Reno Gazette Journal ('RGJ') ID credentials hanging from their pockets," the company said in a blog post. "They also denied that they were trespassing even though they had climbed through a fence designated with 'private property' signs."
Asked by two factory guards to wait until security management and the Sheriff's Department arrived on the scene, Barron and his co-worker allegedly tried to take off in their Jeep.
"As the Tesla employee attempted to record the license plate number on the rear bumper, the driver put [the Jeep] in reverse and accelerated into the Tesla employee, knocking him over," the blog post said.
The employee reportedly sustained a blow to the left hip, cuts on his arms, and scrapes on both palms.
More damage was done when the Jeep struck an ATV carrying two safety managers. When one approached the Gazette-Journal vehicle, the driver accelerated, striking him at the waist, according to Tesla.
Reno Gazette-Journal publisher John Maher said the newspaper is taking the incident "very seriously and it is under investigation at this time," according to the paper.
The Jeep, owned by the Gazette-Journal, also sustained damage: a rock was used to shatter the driver's-side window, and the driver's seat belt was cut in half, but it was unclear how that happened.
Tesla last fall confirmed Nevada as the home of its Gigafactory large-scale battery manufacturing plant. The $5 billion factory will employ 6,500 workers and produce 500,000 lithium-ion battery cells annually over the next six years. Despite reports that construction was delayed, the car maker earlier this year promised that the plant remains on schedule.
"We appreciate the interest in the Gigafactory, but the repeated acts of trespassing, including by those working for the RGJ, is illegal, dangerous and needs to stop," Tesla said. "In particular, we will not stand for assaults on our employes and are working with law enforcement to investigate this incident and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice."
Andy Barron, who has worked with the Gazette-Journal for 17 years, was booked on a charge of battery with a deadly weapon, the paper reported.
According to Tesla, Barron and a Gazette-Journal reporter who was with him will also be charged with trespassing. The Storey County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla said Barron and his colleague were caught snapping photos of the factory Friday morning.
"They refused to provide their names, despite the Reno Gazette Journal ('RGJ') ID credentials hanging from their pockets," the company said in a blog post. "They also denied that they were trespassing even though they had climbed through a fence designated with 'private property' signs."
Asked by two factory guards to wait until security management and the Sheriff's Department arrived on the scene, Barron and his co-worker allegedly tried to take off in their Jeep.
"As the Tesla employee attempted to record the license plate number on the rear bumper, the driver put [the Jeep] in reverse and accelerated into the Tesla employee, knocking him over," the blog post said.
The employee reportedly sustained a blow to the left hip, cuts on his arms, and scrapes on both palms.
More damage was done when the Jeep struck an ATV carrying two safety managers. When one approached the Gazette-Journal vehicle, the driver accelerated, striking him at the waist, according to Tesla.
Reno Gazette-Journal publisher John Maher said the newspaper is taking the incident "very seriously and it is under investigation at this time," according to the paper.
The Jeep, owned by the Gazette-Journal, also sustained damage: a rock was used to shatter the driver's-side window, and the driver's seat belt was cut in half, but it was unclear how that happened.
Tesla last fall confirmed Nevada as the home of its Gigafactory large-scale battery manufacturing plant. The $5 billion factory will employ 6,500 workers and produce 500,000 lithium-ion battery cells annually over the next six years. Despite reports that construction was delayed, the car maker earlier this year promised that the plant remains on schedule.
"We appreciate the interest in the Gigafactory, but the repeated acts of trespassing, including by those working for the RGJ, is illegal, dangerous and needs to stop," Tesla said. "In particular, we will not stand for assaults on our employes and are working with law enforcement to investigate this incident and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice."
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