Tesla boasts it is built in America by Americans, yet it doesn’t pay those Americans, and forces them into bankruptcy.

As Musk has relied on small businesses to help him grow his multibillion-dollar empire, many contractors claim they were not paid – and at least two say they were forced into bankruptcy as a result, according to a CNN review of civil lawsuits and construction liens against companies including Tesla, SpaceX and X.

Even an attorney representing the carmaker in Meissner’s bankruptcy case acknowledged that Tesla has a habit of not promptly paying its bills.

“I don’t disagree that it does take Tesla some time to pay,” the attorney said in court last year, adding “that goes for legal bills, too … I know it full well.”

In Texas, where Musk has been rapidly expanding operations, contractors have filed liens for more than $110 million against Tesla in the last five years, with more than $24 million still allegedly owed to dozens of businesses, CNN’s analysis shows.

Even the lawyer representing Tesla says it’s unfair.