Climate Changed
Walmart’s Fire Suit May ‘Spook’ Solar Customers Tesla Wants
- Retailer says Tesla failed to live up to industry standards
- Suit marks another headache for unit that once led industry
Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg
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Walmart Inc.’s lawsuit against Tesla Inc. over fires at more than a half-dozen stores threatens to undermine the automaker’s latest bid to reboot its struggling solar unit.
In the complaint Tuesday, the retailer said it had leased or licensed roof space at more than 240 stores to Tesla’s energy unit, formerly known as SolarCity, to install and operate solar systems. As of November, fires had broken out atop at least seven of the stores, Walmart said, prompting all of the solar systems to be disconnected.