Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is suing Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over trouble it has with the company’s solar panels catching fire.
According to Walmart, the issues started back in 2012 when the first solar panels installed by Tesla Energy, then known as SolarCity, caught fire. Since then the retail chain has seen another six fires due to the solar panels.
The lawsuit from Walmart claims that Tesla Energy was unable to properly install, repair and care for the solar panels it installs. After troubles with the solar panels, the company had all of them unhooked last year. Despite this, there was still a fire at one of these stores due to wires sparking.
Walmart is seeking damages from Tesla in this lawsuit. The company doesn’t say how much it wants, but instead notes that this will be figured out in court. It has suffered millions of dollars in damages due to the Tesla solar panel fires, reports CBS News.
“As of November 2018, no fewer than seven Walmart stores had experienced fires due to Tesla’s solar systems – including the four fires described above and three others that had occurred earlier,” a portion of the Walmart lawsuit obtained by CNBC reads.
Tesla Energy hasn’t been doing well lately and that’s not much of a surprise. SolarCity was already dealing with its fair share of troubles before the acquisition by Tesla. While TSLA CEO Elon Musk has been trying to turn the business around, it doesn’t look like it’s helping much.
TSLA stock was down 1% as of noon Wednesday.
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
