State alleges Black workers endured slurs, unequal pay at Tesla plant
Opening statements began Monday in a California civil rights trial in which the state accuses Tesla of fostering a racially hostile work environment at its flagship Fremont factory, with dozens of Black employees alleging years of racial slurs, unequal pay and bullying by supervisors.
Brett Watson, a lawyer for the California Civil Rights Department, opened the case before Judge Peter Borkon by showing the bench a series of photographs taken throughout the plant. The images, entered as evidence, depicted the N-word scratched onto grey-blue metal surfaces and written in black marker on walls, along with “KKK,” swastikas, the Confederate flag, a white supremacist logo and the phrase “go back to Africa” scrawled in bathrooms, on lockers, workplace benches and lunch tables, according to court documents.
Watson described a series of racial epithets workers said were directed at them personally, including one incident in which a Black worker said he was asked, “You want to hang from a tree?” He told the court that workers referred to the factory as a “slaveship,” “the plantation” and “The Elon Slave Labor Association” — spelling out TESLA. One worker told state lawyers he heard racial slurs as often as 50 to 100 times a day.
“Despite what Tesla might argue, you will hear Black workers were deeply offended,” Watson said. “These experiences cannot be dismissed as a few bad apples … hundreds of complaints to Tesla and [the Civil Rights Department] will show these experiences were not isolated.”
The lawsuit, filed in February 2022 under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, alleges the factory was racially segregated and that Black workers were paid less, promoted less frequently and terminated more often than their white counterparts. The state is seeking financial damages and injunctive relief that could force Tesla to change its labor practices and internal policies.
Legal experts say the outcome of the trial could have sweeping consequences for the company, partly because the state is not bound by the same arbitration agreements as individual employees. The case is the first discrimination lawsuit against Tesla brought by a government agency on behalf of dozens of workers. Judge Peter Borkon will issue the final ruling in the bench trial, which proceeds without a jury and is expected to continue through the end of October.
Tesla has denied any wrongdoing and called the lawsuit “misguided.” The company said it has “always disciplined and terminated employees who engage in misconduct, including those who use racial slurs or harass others in different ways.” Tesla said its Fremont factory has a majority-minority workforce and provides “the best paying jobs in the automotive industry” to tens of thousands of Californians.
In his opening statement, Tyree Jones, Tesla’s lead lawyer, repeatedly used the N-word in a familiar tone. “What’s up my [N-word], my [N-word] …,” Jones said, adding that “none of which is used as a racial slur.” Jones argued that the state had misread ordinary social exchange. “By this action, the state of California attacks the way many Black people greet each other,” Jones said. “It’s offensive.” Jones touted Tesla’s accomplishments as an innovative electric car manufacturer and reiterated that the company provides thousands of jobs in the state. “The most prolific employer of California is on trial and under attack by the state,” Jones said. Referring to the racist graffiti around the factory, Jones said, “The state is blaming the employer, when it’s the victim.”
The lawsuit is one of dozens of discrimination cases brought against Tesla. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a separate suit alleging the company routinely ignored complaints of repeated racial harassment. In 2022, a federal jury awarded Owen Diaz, a former Tesla employee, $137 million on similar claims — one of the largest awards in a discrimination lawsuit by a single worker, though a judge later reduced the sum. Similar suits have been filed by female employees alleging physical assaults, harassment and catcalling at Tesla facilities across the country.
Tesla has denied wrongdoing in all cases and has said it implemented various policies in recent years to prevent racist and sexist conduct and punish it when it does occur.
Elon Musk, who joined Tesla in 2004 and became CEO in 2008, has also been accused of racist behavior, including promoting white supremacist conspiracy theories such as “white genocide.” According to the Guardian, Musk also tends to broadcast his thoughts on X, a social media platform he owns, with posts on anti-immigrant content and claims that the white race is under threat. Musk is not expected to be called as a witness in the trial, has not publicly addressed the legal proceedings and did not return a request for comment.