Even as it presses for more environmental responsibility, electric-car maker Tesla Motors is now under pressure from People for Ethical Treatment of Animals to drop leather seats.
A proposal from a shareholder asked the company to eliminate use of "animal-sourced materials" in its luxury electric cars by 2019. It and another proposal were soundly defeated when the vote count was announced Wednesday night.
But the issue may not go away. At the stockholders meeting, a PETA representative urged fellow shareholders to make sure Teslas go "vegan" on interiors.
In its proxy statement, Tesla's board of directors asked shareholders to reject the two proposals related to "cruelty-free materials." The board says "exploring alternatives would impede or delay us" in a company that is growing at a rate of about 50% a year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said after listening to PETA representative Stephanie Downs that he'd be willing to consider the issue.
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