Tesla faces trial over ‘rampant racism’ against Black workers at US plant

A lawsuit accusing Tesla of allowing widespread racial discrimination at its California factory went to trial on Monday, with the state alleging that Black workers faced racial slurs, harassment, unequal treatment and limited opportunities for promotion.The case centres on Tesla's Fremont factory, the electric carmaker's flagship plant in California. The state's Civil Rights Department brought the lawsuit in 2022, alleging that the company failed to address repeated complaints about racism and violated California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.The bench trial, being heard without a jury, could continue until the end of October. Judge Peter Borkon will decide the case.Racist graffiti and alleged abuseOpening the state's case, lawyer Brett Watson showed the court photographs of graffiti found inside the Fremont plant. The images included the N-word, references to the Ku Klux Klan, a Confederate flag, a white supremacist symbol and messages telling Black workers to "go back to Africa".According to court documents, such material was found in areas including bathrooms, lockers, workplace benches and lunch tables.Watson also described incidents in which Black employees said they were subjected to racial abuse. One worker alleged that he was asked, "You want to hang from a tree?""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 state alleges that racism persisted for years and that Black workers themselves used terms such as "slaveship", "the plantation" and "The Elon Slave Labor Association" to describe their experience at the factory.One Black employee told state lawyers that he heard racial slurs between 50 and 100 times a day, according to the case presented by the state.State alleges unequal treatmentThe lawsuit claims that Black employees at the Fremont plant were concentrated in lower-level jobs, received lower pay and fewer promotions, and were more frequently dismissed than white workers.The state is seeking financial compensation as well as court orders that could require Tesla to change its workplace policies and practices.The case is significant because it is the first lawsuit brought against Tesla by a government agency on behalf of multiple workers to reach trial. Unlike individual employees, the state is not bound by Tesla's employee arbitration agreements.Tesla denies allegationsTesla has rejected the allegations and described the lawsuit as "misguided". The company said it has disciplined and dismissed employees for misconduct, including racial harassment and the use of slurs.It also said its Fremont workforce is majority-minority and that the plant provides "the best paying jobs in the automotive industry" to tens of thousands of Californians.Tesla lawyer Tyree Jones strongly challenged the state's interpretation of racial language during his opening statement. He repeatedly used the N-word while arguing that Black people can use the term among themselves without it being intended as a racial insult."What's up my [N-word], my [N-word] …," Jones said, adding that "none of which is used as a racial slur.""By this action, the state of California attacks the way many Black people greet each other," Jones said. "It's offensive."Jones also argued that Tesla itself had become the target of unfair treatment by the state."The most prolific employer of California is on trial and under attack by the state," Jones said.Regarding the racist graffiti cited by the state, he added, "The state is blaming the employer, when it's the victim."Former employees testifyAfter the opening statements, California called three former Black Tesla employees as witnesses.One, who worked at the company from 2021 to 2024, said he was repeatedly bullied because of his race. He alleged that another employee called him the N-word, but claimed Tesla reprimanded him rather than the person who allegedly used the slur.Another witness, a former senior security manager who spent six years at Tesla, told the court that he regularly worked with human resources on discrimination complaints and had personally observed what he considered different treatment of Black employees.He also described an incident involving white employees who were allegedly found drinking alcohol at the workplace. According to his testimony, Elon Musk intervened and instructed management to override company policy and not dismiss the employees. Tesla has denied wrongdoing. The trial is expected to run through October.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.