As the head of investigations at Germany’s leading business newspaper, Sönke Iwersen is well accustomed to dealing with red-herring tips provided by cranks, hostile investors and petty grudge-bearers. But his rule is: “Never turn anyone away. Always listen.” It might just lead to something big.
This principle was thoroughly vindicated on November 4, 2022. An anonymous figure contacted Handelsblatt, Iwersen’s publication, offering to blow the whistle on what they said were serious problems inside Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker. Within minutes of striking up contact through an encrypted app called Threema, the source had sent Iwersen a Microsoft Excel file that purported to contain the personal details of 5,000 people the company had laid off.
