A whistleblower. A 100-GB-leak of confidential internal documents. A corporation in crisis

A riveting tale of journalistic enterprise, ethics, and the courage to follow the evidence where it leads

The 1st major work about Elon Musk and Tesla since Musk inserted himself directly into presidential politics and, through DOGE, into the lives of millions of Americans

When an anonymous whistleblower and former Tesla employee approached Germany’s business newspaper Handelsblatt in November 2022, the newsroom was stunned. The allegations were astounding. Months of relentless investigation confirmed them to be true.

In The Tesla Files, Handelsblatt journalists Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden tell the full story. Drawing on 23,000 leaked documents, 100 gigabytes of confidential data, and hundreds of interviews with employees and customers, they deliver an unprecedented look inside the world’s most secretive automaker.

This is a portrait of a company that values hype over substance, and a CEO who demands devotion while ruling through fear. It also traces Elon Musk’s ascent into the highest echelons of politics—marked by a pattern of obfuscation and manipulation.