FRANKFURT, March 27 (Reuters) - German authorities have

dropped a probe over Tesla's allegations that an IG

Metall trade union member secretly recorded a works council

meeting in an acrimonious tussle for unionisation at the

electric-vehicle maker's plant near Berlin.

The company in February filed a criminal complaint, accusing

the union representative of illegally recording the meeting on a

laptop computer.

The prosecutors' office in the eastern city of Frankfurt an

der Oder told Reuters on Friday that police officers had found

no indication that the device's microphone had been active

during the time in question or that any recording had been made.

The findings were preliminary but once prosecutors receive

the full police report, they expect to wrap up the case soon,

said a spokeswoman for the office.

Germany's powerful metalworkers' union IG Metall earlier

this month suffered a setback at Tesla Germany's works council

elections, after a campaign marked by mud-slinging and legal

challenges.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Thomas Seythal)