Nevada: Legal issues, not politics, behind withdrawn Boring Company citations

A view of a tunnel at the LVCC Central Station during a tour of Elon Musk's underground transportation system under the Las Vegas Convention Center Friday, April 9, 2021. The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop is the first commercial endeavor for Musk's Boring Company. Photo by: Steve Marcus

Nevada workplace safety officials say more than $425,000 in citations against Elon Musk’s Boring Company were withdrawn due to legal deficiencies, not political pressure from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office, according to a detailed response issued today that acknowledges procedural failures and altered public records but insists no interference occurred.

The controversy centers on citations issued by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration after two Clark County firefighters suffered chemical burns in a December 2024 training exercise inside Musk’s Las Vegas tunnels. According to a Fortune magazine investigation, the citations vanished within hours after Boring Company President Steve Davis contacted Lombardo’s office, with public records of key meetings subsequently disappearing from case files.

Kristopher Sanchez, the director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, acknowledged the governor’s office contacted him on May 28 after the Boring Company expressed concerns about Nevada OSHA citations, according to a memo released today from Salli Ortiz, the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations division counsel, to Sanchez. However, Sanchez maintained that no commitments were made and the governor’s staff never pressured the agency to take action.

After Davis’ complaint was lodged, the state said, the Division of Industrial Relations legal counsel conducted what was the first legal review of the citations. The review determined the citations were “legally insufficient” because three of four required elements — standard applies, standard violated, employee exposure and employer knowledge — were not met. Officials said the citations were withdrawn that morning before a scheduled afternoon meeting with Boring Company representatives.

The explanation has drawn sharp criticism from Nevada Democrats. In a social media post, the state Democratic Party wrote, “a company owned by the richest man in the world called Lombardo’s office and got them to remove, in a matter of hours, hundreds of thousands of dollars in safety fines after injuring firefighters. How many NV small businesses would get that kind of special treatment?” 

The memo acknowledged procedural failures by Nevada OSHA officials. 

Nevada OSHA violated agency best practices by not submitting the willful citations for legal review before issuance, it said. A willful citation is an enforcement action OSHA issues when it determines an employer has either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or has shown plain indifference to employee safety and health.

In response, the division has put four new policies in place since June, including enhanced violation worksheets, inspection narratives and a willful review policy.

The memo also addressed damaging revelations about altered public records. After a reporter’s public records request in October, officials discovered a casefile diary had been modified to remove references to the May 29 meeting with the governor’s office, according to today’s memo.

A forensic analysis proved inconclusive about who altered the document and when, the memo said. Citations also temporarily “disappeared” from the casefile before being restored. State officials insisted these were mistakes rather than cover-ups. 

“DIR administration and B&I leadership had no knowledge of a second casefile document or potential alterations,” the memo reads, adding that “no attempt was made” to hide the governor’s office involvement.

Sanchez emphasized that he left his May 28 conversation with the governor’s office with support to keep citations in place if they had merit. “At no time did the Department of Business and Industry or Division of Industrial Relations leadership feel pressured or instructed to withdraw the citations,” the memo maintained.

Additionally, officials noted that such governor’s office inquiries were routine. “The outreach from The Boring Company is not an anomaly and only stands out due to the high-profile nature of the business because of its affiliation with Elon Musk,” they wrote.

The memo acknowledged ongoing oversight of the Boring Company, including eight OSHA inspections since 2022, five finding no violations. One inspection resulted in eight citations currently pending before an independent OSHA review board.

Sanchez emphasized transparency and commitment to fair regulation, stating his only instruction to staff is that “companies should get what they earn.”