Tesla turmoil

Tesla is taking a former employee to court, alleging the person stole company secrets.

Now the company is saying a threat has since been received at its Nevada Gigafactory battery plant and it has increased security as a precaution.

The sheriff’s office in Storey County, where the Gigafactory is, said it had received information of a threat to security at the Gigafactory on Wednesday but determined “after several hours of investigation . . . there was no credible threat”, CNBC reports.

The sheriff’s office says names of all involved parties will be withheld while the investigation is ongoing.

The employee is reported in overseas media as saying he’s a “whistle-blower”.

Tesla refutes the man’s claims to being a “whistle-blower” and says his claims are exaggerated or misconstrued.

Email exchanges between the former employee and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk have been reported in the Washington Post.