The unionization effort seems to be intensifying as Tesla prepares for production of its first mass-market vehicle, the Model 3.
The UAW called Worksafe directly and asked it to analyze incident rates for the report released Wednesday, Doug Parker, the executive director of Worksafe said on a press call with journalists.
The report's publication comes less than a week after The Guardian published a bombshell report detailing grueling work conditions at Fremont where employees regularly pass out.
Three Tesla human resources executives have left the company since details of the unionization effort surfaced in February, BuzzFeed News first reported. Tesla announced the departure of Arnnon Geshuri, its VP of human resources since 2009, in a blog post Tuesday.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called reports of excessive injuries at the Fremont plant "disingenuous or outright false."
But Musk softened his tone somewhat when interviewed by The Guardian, saying he slept in the Fremont factory in 2016 because he knew employees were having a tough time.
"I knew people were having a hard time, working long hours, and on hard jobs. I wanted to work harder than they did, to put even more hours in," Musk told The Guardian.
Worksafe's Parker said Tesla needs to address issues at the Fremont plant before ramping up production for the Model 3. Tesla has an ambitious goal of increasing production to 500,000 vehicles a year starting in 2018, a five-fold production increase.
"Whatever they're doing, they're going to be facing a whole new health and safety environment if they're going to be ramping up production like that," Parker said.
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SEE ALSO: Tesla factory employees describe grueling work conditions where people pass out 'like a pancake'
