Tesla employees accuse supervisors of using racist slurs. The company doubled down in court.
Tesla defends flagship factory staff over allegedly racist behavior, including the use of slurs and Nazi imagery against Black workers.
A lawsuit filed by the state of California against Tesla alleges that the company's Fremont manufacturing facility fostered a hostile work environment for Black employees through racist behavior. The claims, first brought in 2022, target management at the factory for allegedly violating California's Fair Employment and Housing Act. The state is seeking damages and changes to Tesla's labor practices.
Documents in the case include photographs of neo-Nazi imagery and racist language scrawled on factory items. Employees testified to hearing supervisors use slurs and discriminatory language, referring to lynchings and likening the factory to a plantation. One worker alleged they heard nearly 100 racial slurs in a single day.
Tesla's defense takes an unusual turn. The company's lawyers argued that using the N-word as a term of respect and endearment within the Black community is offensive to many Black people. They claimed the term's use in the Black community renders it not a racial slur.
In 2021, Tesla was sued by a former contractor for allegedly ignoring complaints of racist behavior, leading to a $136.9 million settlement. This latest lawsuit describes a segregated workplace where Black workers were paid less, promoted less, and more frequently terminated. California argues these experiences are not isolated, citing hundreds of complaints to Tesla and the Civil Rights Department.
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