Tesla says Reno journalist drove into security guards on Gigafactory grounds

(credit: Steve Jurvetson)

Last Friday morning, a photographer for the Reno Gazette-Journal as well as another RGJ employee allegedly trespassed on Tesla Motor’s Gigafactory grounds. As the two tried to flee, Tesla says the photographer struck two security guards in a Jeep owned by RGJ.

According to the Storey County Sheriff’s Office, the photographer, Jose Andrews Barron, age 59, was arrested by deputies and taken to the local detention center where he was held for felony battery and trespassing, with a $30,000 bail.

In a blog post today, Tesla wrote that the two journalists were spotted taking photos of the Gigafactory, which is still under construction. The responding security guard called for back up and alerted the Sheriff’s Department and then approached the two people. According to Tesla, the guard "asked their names and notified them that they were trespassing on Tesla property. They refused to provide their names, despite the Reno Gazette Journal (“RGJ”) ID credentials hanging from their pockets. They also denied that they were trespassing even though they had climbed through a fence designated with 'private property' signs."