At trial over Black Tesla workers’ racial discrimination claims, a Tesla lawyer called the N-word a term of respect and endearment. A former employee said a non-Black coworker used it and threatened them with physical violence; they were written up after reporting it.
The trial involves allegations by dozens of Black employees at a California Tesla plant. Lawyers for the California Civil Rights Department presented evidence that managers called Tesla “the plantation”; factory graffiti included swastikas, “KKK” and nooses, and some referred to themselves and CEO Elon Musk as “slave masters.”
Tesla told The Guardian the lawsuit was “misguided.” The company said its Fremont facility has a majority-minority staff, pays high wages, and has always disciplined and terminated employees who engage in misconduct, including those who use racial slurs or harass others.
