Worker injury rate at Tesla 31% higher than industry average: study

Worker injury rate at Tesla was 31 per cent higher than the industry average at its only electric-car manufacturing plant in 2015, and it dipped only slightly last year, according to a new study.

Further, injuries of a serious nature requiring days off work or those that restricted duty or a transfer, were almost double the industry average in 2015, the report from the non-profit called Worksafe said.

According to Worksafe, its analysis was based on Occupational Health and Safety Administration injury reports that were requested for review by workers, as required under law. According to Tesla officials who did not have any objections to the analysis, the rate had dropped significantly in the first three months of this year.

"We see people getting injured at the plant on a regular basis -- people who do the same sort of jobs that we do," the report quoted worker Jonathan Galescu, who obtained the injury logs, as saying.

Meanwhile, unionisation moves at the plant of the luxury electric car maker are gaining strength. The plant has a 10,000 strong workforce.

The development also comes with the plant dramatically boosting production and employment to start rolling out the first mass-market car, the Model 3.

The report was commissioned by the United Auto Workers (UAW), the industry's largest union in the US.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that employees at his company had been "having a hard time, working long hours, and on hard jobs."

But he added he "cared deeply" about their health and well-being and said the safety record was improving.

"We're a money-losing company," Musk told the British daily.

"This is not some situation where, for example, we are just greedy capitalists who decided to skimp on safety in order to have more profits and dividends and that kind of thing."