Department of Transport officials warned Minister of State Seán Canney not to attend a Tesla event earlier this year marking the car manufacturer’s 10,000th sale in Ireland.
The Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVIreland) office in the department told Mr Canney Ministers should not meet “individual car manufacturers”.
Instead, Tesla representatives met ZEVI officials in the department’s offices on February 25th.
The EV Industry Insights Forum event at the Tesla centre in Cork was due to have been held on February 25th, but was later moved to March 14th.
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The invitation to Mr Canney, Independent TD and Minister of State at the Department of Transport, came from Melanie Naughton, Tesla country manager for Ireland, in February, shortly after he was appointed.
Ms Naughton wrote to him on February 6th congratulating him on his appointment and inviting him to the event.
The invitation came two weeks after Tesla chief executive Elon Musk made a gesture that some interpreted as a fascist salute at a rally celebrating President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January.
Mr Musk last month left his role in the US department of government efficiency, which he had joined with the aim of slashing federal government funding.
The invitation occurred two weeks before the “Tesla takedown” movement began in the United States targeting garages selling Tesla cars.
In her letter to Mr Canney, Ms Naughton said the milestone event would “bring insights from industry leaders and innovators” to discuss progress to date and about accelerating the transition to electric vehicles.
“We would be delighted if you could give a short speech on your departmental priorities and ambitions for the electric vehicle sector as we celebrate this milestone,” she wrote.
“Tesla is committed to supporting Ireland’s transition to sustainable energy and looks forward to collaborating with the Government to achieve our shared goals.”
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show the invitation was sent by Mr Canney’s office to the ZEVIreland section of the Department of Transport.
In response, ZEVIreland advised that no Minister should meet “individual car manufacturers”.
The minutes of the meeting suggest there was an overview of Tesla Ireland and discussions related to vehicle demand and charging infrastructure.
ZEVI provided a short overview of its national road EV charging plan and the national road grant scheme.
Mr Canney’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
