Norwegian court recognises Lukasz Krupski as a whistleblower
Credit: Michael Englert, Handelsblatt
Last year, Blueprint for Free Speech named Lukasz Krupski as the latest winner of our Europe Whistleblowing Prize. Today, the Norwegian legal system has also recognised that Lukasz is indeed a whistleblower, who drew attention to "reprehensible conditions" at vehicle manufacturer Tesla
Lukasz revealed multiple product safety failures at vehicle manufacturer Tesla - not least among them problems with the manufacturer's much-vaunted autopilot system. These problems were compounded by a corporate culture that discouraged whistleblowing and tried to keep difficult issues out of the public eye.
Lukasz's revelations, which were supported by a significant amount of internal information from within the company, formed the basis of a major series of investigative articles in the German business daily Handelsblatt.
Tesla's safety record and marketing claims have also been the subject of investigations by US regulators including NTSA and the SEC. In December 2023, US regulators ordered a major recall of Tesla vehicles equipped with the autopilot feature.
Following the publication of the first parts of the Handelsblatt investigation, Tesla initiated legal action against Lukasz - action that resulted in his home being raided by Norwegian police.
In May 2023, a Norwegian court granted an interim injunction that forbid Lukasz from "accessing, deleting or altering or otherwise modifying" any of the data he had acquired to back up his claims, effectively preventing him from sharing information from any other parties - including regulators.
“Krupski’s actions constitute legitimate whistleblowing”
Today, 12 July 2024, that interim injunction has finally been overturned in a ruling from Buskerud District Court. The ruling notes, unambiguously, that Lukasz is a whistleblower and an injunction that prevents him speaking to public authorities and the media is a contravention both of Norwegian employment law and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"Krupski's actions constitute legitimate whistleblowing. The actions are related to reprehensible conditions at Tesla. Krupski has attempted to blow the whistle intrnally without being heard, and has therefore contacted the media. It is Tesla's lack of openness and safety that has made external whistleblowing necessary...
"Krupski has a legal right to notify public authorities and media of matters of public interest."
Commenting on the significance of today's ruling, Lukasz Krupski's lawyer Kyrre Eggen said:
"The case confirms that injunctions can not be used to stop wistleblowers from informing on issues of public interest, even in a situation where the data in question is company data and the whistleblower has not been authorized to access the data."
Lukasz Krupski still has legal action pending against Tesla for harrassment and intimidation. That case is due to be held in a four-day hearing starting on 23 October.