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Karl Hansen - Tesla Whistleblower - Support Fund

WHO I AM:

My name is Karl Hansen and I am a Tesla Whistleblower in need of financial assistance. I am hesitant to ask for help if I can work through a situation and find a resolution. So please understand that reaching out to you for help now is somewhat overwhelming for me and I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read this.

This is likely the first time you’ve seen a direct communication from me via social media. I have refrained from public social media engagement to maintain professional credibility and for legal reasons due to my active participation in multiple ongoing legal proceedings and investigative efforts both personally and for others who have been publicly identified as well as some whose identities remain unknown.  

I’ve spent most of my adult life in uniformed service to this great nation. I retired as a Special Agent assigned to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Protective Services Battalion, serving as a protective service special agent on the personal protective details for the office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense under two presidential administrations. I continued my federal service as a senior civilian within the Department of Defense as one of only 66 Federal Ombudsman. I also served as an Area Representative and Senior Investigator for the Federal Maritime Commission for Southern California.

I was hired by Tesla and subsequently recruited into their internal investigations department in 2018. I was wrongfully terminated and retaliated against for reporting investigative findings and concerns.  

SITUATION / BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF):

Tesla initiated and executed an internal campaign against me that has resulted in an ongoing yearlong debilitating battle against a multi-billion-dollar global corporation with unlimited financial means, access and resources. I was tasked to conduct several very high profile and specific internal investigations pertaining to potentially damaging alleged criminal activity at the Gigafactory. After reporting significant findings and witnessing ongoing efforts to minimize and marginalize my efforts, I was ultimately terminated for doing my job thoroughly and recommending specific actions that needed to be undertaken to protect the company.

THE IMPACT:

When I decided to speak out against Tesla, I knew the inherent risks involved with taking a stance and doing the right thing; I have spent a career engaged in this type of work. I knew this would be hard, but hard didn’t faze me because life is hard and hard helps build and maintain character. I was taken aback by and wasn’t prepared for the lengths Tesla will go to in order to silence anyone attempting to stand up and expose their practices and in order to protect their individual rights. Tesla’s tactics are legally questionable, consistent, covert, overt and they employ them decisively and long-term with the specific intent of siphoning the energy, resources, motivation and desire of victims who attempt to take a stand based on justice and personal integrity.

I have sacrificed tremendously over the past year due to the 2nd and 3rd order effects of having been wrongfully terminated. I have asked for no assistance up to this point and have continued the fight for myself and others behind the scenes and within the means and limited resources I had available. The impact has been devastating and has negatively affected my health, resulted in a total depletion of any and all financial resources and has impacted my ability to find or obtain employment commensurate with my previous salaries and experience. I have remained in the Reno, NV area as a result of this, and because of my commitment to others in similar situations.  

The financial and emotional impacts are the most significant and include as examples, the repossession of my truck and the fact that I owe a substantial amount in back rent and am pending eviction. Fortunately, I am blessed to be able to rent from a homeowner who is amazing, appreciative and understanding of the situation. However, there comes a time that a business decision needs to be made; and that decision point is around the corner. I was able to downgrade to another vehicle that is driveable but remains unreliable due to repairs that are required. I have had to go to extremes to make payment arrangements that can no longer be met consistently for simple monthly utility bills etc.

I am not whining or complaining, please don’t assume that. I am however providing you with a brief overview of certain aspects of the situation on the ground. The time, money, energy and expenses involved with ongoing investigative research and activities, preparation for pending and ongoing legal proceedings, the travel and costs associated with providing testimony in depositions etc., in not only my own legal proceedings, but those of others, also remain present as current and ongoing obligations. Within the last week things have started to move forward rather quickly, and I have been subpoenaed to provide testimony in a deposition outside of the Reno area.

YOUR SUPPORT:

As indicated, I am not only doing this solely for myself. My testimony, depositions, cooperation in ongoing investigations etc., is and has been critical in the livelihood and ultimate success of not only me, but of individuals and agencies pursuing accountability. Funds will be used to pay for pending and ongoing legal and investigatory expenses in defending my positions against Tesla, and in bringing any appropriate counterclaims or other legal actions deemed appropriate. In addition, funds will be utilized to assist in recovering financially and to mitigate eviction and other pending financial obligations.

*Clarification noted below and additional information can be found posted in “Updates.”

CLOSING AND THANK YOU:

I will never regret the decision I made as that is who I am at my core. I am committed to this fight and it is in my nature to never quit. I remain steadfast in that conviction because doing so demonstrates for my kids and others what right looks like.

I derive personal satisfaction and success from being able to advocate for and serve others and to help those who for whatever reason(s) cannot stand up and fight for themselves.

There’s no greater feeling than the one derived from knowing you’ve saved a life or helped a service member, Veteran, individual or family overcome a debilitating or life changing circumstance they once felt was insurmountable. To me these things are priceless.

I believe it is critically important to remember that we have an obligation take a stand for what is right and just, and to identify and expose crime, corruption and malfeasance.

As a very close ally and fellow investigator regularly points out; it is important to always remember that “we are all responsible for what we know and have an obligation to do the right thing.” This conviction is not always popular and certainly not easy, but it is never wrong to do what’s right. Adhering to this belief has brought great satisfaction, but also enormous grief.

In this case, standing up to a multi-billion-dollar company has led to an exhaustion of all resources and a need for assistance.

Respectfully,
Karl E. Hansen

CLARIFICATION & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

*This GFM is unrelated to services provided by the Firm of Stuart MEISSNER who is on contingency specific to SEC related matters.
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Organizer

Karl Hansen
Organizer
Seattle, WA

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