Trespassing is tricky. Entering property without permission is illegal, but "permission" is not simple.
A pizza delivery person who goes to the wrong address is not trespassing, even if he walked past all manner of signs. But he certainly cannot jump over barbed wire or pick locks to gain entry. These reporters are not delivery men, but we need lots more facts before we can make any decision about whether or not they were trespassing prior to the confrontation with the security guards.
They were certainly trespassing after they refused to leave. We don't know whether they are being charged for trespass prior to or after the guards got involved. It is probably moot given what happened, but criminal trespass does have all sorts of fine points.
I agree they certainly aren't the wayward pizza guy, but it is still far from simple.
"Private Property" signs are something different than "No Public Admitted". Any mall has a private property sign, that doesn't mean people aren't allowed in.
I'm a unsure about the location of the Jeep. It sounds like they drove into Tesla's parking lot, then proceeded on foot towards the factory. If the lot was open to the public (no gate) then the initial trespass is far from clear. Climbing a fence weights towards trespass, but I want to see more about this fence. If it was the sort of barb-wire fence normally found around factories, how did they do this? Or was it a small sort of fence meant to direct foot traffic around grassy areas.
If they instead parked on the street it gets even more complex. If they walked in on foot and were asked to leave, they appear to have done so. So they were not trespassing after being confronted by guards. And that would place the physical altercation off of tesla property, totally complicating the liability issues. If you seek to detain someone you don't normally allow them to leave the proper, let alone them access their vehicle.
A pizza delivery person who goes to the wrong address is not trespassing, even if he walked past all manner of signs. But he certainly cannot jump over barbed wire or pick locks to gain entry. These reporters are not delivery men, but we need lots more facts before we can make any decision about whether or not they were trespassing prior to the confrontation with the security guards.
They were certainly trespassing after they refused to leave. We don't know whether they are being charged for trespass prior to or after the guards got involved. It is probably moot given what happened, but criminal trespass does have all sorts of fine points.