Elon Musk’s Tesla has been sued by a group of black current and former workers at its factory in Fremont, California, who claim they have been subject to racist graffiti, slurs, and harassment. The workers claim that the company and its managers were aware of the harassment but did nothing to stop it.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Elon Musk’s Tesla is being sued again by a group of black current and former workers at the company’s Fremont Factory who claim that they were subject to racism and harassment. The employees allege that Tesla and managers at the company were aware of the issue but did nothing to stop it.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the new Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. The new Tesla factory is the former NUMMI plant. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The lawsuit lists over a dozen current and former Tesla workers as plaintiffs. It is currently unclear whether any of the employees signed mandatory arbitration agreements which could affect whether or not the case makes it to state court.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs “have been subjected to offensive racist comments and offensive racist behavior and discipline by colleagues, leads, supervisors, managers, and/or Human Resources personnel on a daily basis.”
A similar suit alleging that Tesla fostered a culture of racial abuse at its Fremont facility was brought earlier this year by state regulators. The company responded by publishing a blog post claiming that it takes racial discrimination very seriously, investigated claims, and terminated any employees found responsible.
Employees allege that they were subject to a number of racist comments, including being referred to as “Blackies” and “Darkies,” as well as regular use of the n-word at the facility.
“It’s hard to imagine a workplace culture that these hard-working people had to endure day after day, having to live through racist comments and abusive behavior,” said attorney Mike Arias. “Hearing story after story of employees being subjected to this level of disgusting and threatening behavior and language is still almost unbelievable.”
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com