A Tesla whistleblower, who has long been embroiled in a legal battle with Elon Musk, has now brought a new allegation against him. Cristina Balan, a former engineer at the company who was fired for speaking up about a safety issue, has claimed that Musk threatened her team with deportation.
Balan emphasized she was simply following the Tesla owner’s orders to “talk to me” if employees thought it was the “fastest way to solve a problem for the benefit of the whole company.” Back in 2013, Elon Musk himself sent this email to all staffers, insisting that they should consult with him if a problem arises, as per Electrek. However, just a year later, when Balan tried to do so, she was fired. She informed Musk that she was worried that the floor carpets could curl up underneath the pedals in Model S vehicles, leading to major braking safety hazards.
However, Elon, instead of following up with her concerns, threatened to deport her team members who were waiting on their green card applications. According to Balan, the tech billionaire gave her an ultimatum, and that was for her to resign on the spot, and she did, but not follow his orders, but rather as a form of protest.
Balan added that despite the threats, her team members backed her decision to speak up about the safety issue. It is important to note that since getting fired, she has been caught up in a messy legal spat with the company.
Tesla publicly accused her of embezzling funds for a so-called “secret project.” Balan, in response, filed a defamation suit against the company in 2019 and repeatedly denied the accusations. However, due to California’s statute of limitations, she lost the suit initially. When the carmaker brought the case back to a district court to confirm the arbitration ruling, she won an appeal against the decision. Although experts agree it is unpredictable where the legal battle will land, the latest update has surely opened up new possibilities for her case.
I WON 🙌 I WON THE APEAL AGAINST ELON MUSK AND TESLA !!!!
FIRST APEAL MUSK AND TESLA LOST!
I AM GRATEFUL FOR MY AMAZING FRIEND AND LAWYER WILLIAM MORAN @BillAlwaysWins who believed in me
First ex Tesla immigrant Woman Engineer Who fight Musk as a Pro Se!
A lot of Firsts! pic.twitter.com/DEkpVN9wKU
— Cristina Balan – STOP Forced Arbitration (@CristinaIBalan) April 14, 2025
The former engineer, who has been recovering from stage 3 breast cancer, revealed that she plans on extending the legal spat. “We are hoping we will start a new lawsuit and we will have the chance to take on Elon Musk in front of a jury and judge,” she informed the BBC.
In a recent interview with The Times of London, Balan called Musk a “monster” and “pure evil,” calling him out for his infamous vindictive and unpredictable management style.
However, she is not the only employee who has had to face his wrath for speaking up. We all remember the firing of the 500-worker-strong Supercharger team, a decision that even shocked the investors. Employees claimed that Rebecca Tinucci, who had been the head of EV charging, reportedly angered Elon Musk during a one-on-one meeting, leading him to sack her whole team.
Elon Musk @elonmusk cleaning up at Tesla. @Tesla
In an email to staff, Elon announced that Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s Senior Director of EV charging, and most of her team would be leaving the company on Tuesday.
He said he wanted the company to become “absolutely hardcore” about… pic.twitter.com/FToKI8NEIp— Eva McMillan ♥️ (@EvasTeslaSPlaid) April 30, 2024
Tesla workers have long complained about various workplace situations, including unsafe conditions, long hours, sudden mass layoffs, retaliation from the upper ranks, and, not to mention, rampant racism that has often sparked outrage.
