Tesla Powerwall
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 1 November 2026 · 14 sources
Tesla's home battery, sold in Australia through installers and energy retailers.
Tesla Powerwall's parent, Tesla, scored 12.5/100 in the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a failing or very low rating (Corporate Human Rights Benchmark 12.5/100, for the company it's rated with). Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2019) is more than 5 years old.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 2 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: unsafe conditions, last recorded in 2019
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces the silicon in its panels to the smelter or quartz mine, outside Xinjiang (for batteries and inverters: traces its battery metals to the mine)
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: Corporate Human Rights Benchmark 12.5/100 (the company it's rated with)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Tesla Powerwall makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where solar panels and batteries are usually made.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| MalaysiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery cells and inverters rely on cobalt, lithium, graphite and nickel from mines and refineries linked to child and forced labour in DR Congo, Indonesia and Xinjiang.
- Sells no crystalline-silicon solar panels (batteries, inverters or thin-film panels only)
- Owns or runs its own production
- Publishes its mineral smelter list and uses independently audited smelters (RMAP) for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold
- Modern slavery statement
- It publishes its smelters or refiners or uses some recycled metals, but can't yet trace the metals in its batteries to the mine.
Research notes Powerwall is assembled at Tesla's Gigafactory in Nevada, US, from bought-in lithium-ion cells; Tesla does not say who makes the cells or what chemistry Powerwall 3 uses, and its safety data sheet names only the electrolyte. Tesla publishes a 3TG smelter list through the Responsible Minerals Initiative and says it buys much of its lithium, cobalt and nickel directly from mines and joined IRMA, but it publishes no list of battery-mineral mines or refiners and no cell-supplier list for Powerwall. The group's Australian modern slavery statements and minerals disclosures are used here where they cover Powerwall; its car factories' labour record is not counted against this label.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Problem found | Parent Tesla, Inc. scores 12.5 out of 100 in its latest Corporate Human Rights Benchmark result listed by the World Benchmarking Alliance, which gives no year for it; the 2026 benchmark average is 53.8. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Tesla Motors Australia Pty Ltd lodges modern slavery statements every year from 2020 to 2025. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Tesla responded in April 2024 to Climate Rights International's report on nickel mines and plants in Halmahera, Indonesia, describing site visits and 28 audits in its nickel supply chain. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Tesla and its subsidiaries are not on the UFLPA Entity List (29 October 2026 edition). View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names Chinese lithium-ion batteries as made with child-labour inputs, and DR Congo cobalt ore (child and forced labour), Indonesian nickel (forced labour) and Zimbabwean lithium (child labour). View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | A USA Today and Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found worker injuries were routine at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory, where Powerwall is made, with some unreported, and Nevada OSHA fined Tesla $26,900 for safety violations there from 2017 (CNBC, 2019). Source · archived copy | PartlyTesla paid small fines, told inspectors it had fixed the problems and called the incidents isolated; it limited Nevada OSHA's follow-up inspection to terms agreed with the state. |
Sources and actions
Sources 14
Show all 14 sources
- Tesla (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · Corporate Human Rights Benchmark 12.5/100; Social Benchmark 6.9/100
- Corporate Human Rights Benchmark 2022 scoresheet: Tesla (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · 7.3/100 in 2022; no general supply chain human rights due diligence beyond minerals
- 2026 Benchmark Hub: Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) · search the archive · CHRB average 53.8/100 across 105 companies
- Tesla's response (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2024) · search the archive · Tesla response to Climate Rights International's Halmahera nickel report: site visits and 28 audits
- Modern slavery statements of Tesla Motors Australia Pty Ltd (Australian Modern Slavery Register) · search the archive · Six statements, 2020 to 2025
- DHS announces addition of 37 PRC-based companies to UFLPA Entity List (2025) · search the archive · UFLPA Entity List additions; Tesla not among them
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Chinese lithium-ion batteries (child-labour inputs), DR Congo cobalt, Indonesian nickel and Zimbabwean lithium listed
- Tesla sourcing lithium, nickel and cobalt directly from mines (Electrek, 2022) · search the archive · Tesla Impact Report: over 95% of lithium hydroxide, 50% of cobalt and over 30% of nickel sourced directly from mining companies in 2021; joined IRMA
- Tesla gigafactory safety problems detailed by USA Today (CNBC, 2019) · archived copy · Injuries routine at the Nevada Gigafactory, some unreported; more than one 911 call a day in 2018; $26,900 in safety fines since 2017
- Tesla to build battery plant in Nevada with help from CATL (electrive, 2024) · search the archive · Tesla stationary storage moving to LFP cells; Megapack uses CATL cells; planned LFP cell plant in Sparks, Nevada
- Tesla Powerwall 3 battery safety data sheet (AGL) · search the archive · Powerwall 3 distributed in Australia by Tesla Motors Australia; sold by AGL; sealed lithium-ion battery, cathode chemistry not stated
- Tesla restricted Gigafactory inspections after worker injuries (MBT, 2020) · search the archive · Tesla stopped Nevada OSHA interviewing workers and refused a warrant; inspection limited by agreement; one violation recommended
Published by Tesla Powerwall or its owner
- Tesla ramps Powerwall production by 50% in just three months (Drive Tesla Canada, 2025) · search the archive · Giga Nevada is the central hub for Tesla's energy storage production; over 1,500 Powerwalls a day
- Tesla Conflict Minerals Report 2025 · search the archive · 3TG smelter and refiner list published on its website; RMI member supporting RMAP audits; no list for cobalt, lithium, nickel or graphite
Company details
- Owned by
- Tesla, Inc.
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 1 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Tesla Powerwall ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/tesla-powerwall, last researched 1 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other home batteries brands
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