A Tesla Inc shareholder sued the electric car maker, CEO Elon Musk and his board of directors, accusing them of failing to address discrimination and harassment complaints and breeding a “toxic culture in the workplace”. worked”.
Tesla has already been accused in the past of racial discrimination and sexual harassment in its factories.
“Tesla has created a toxic workplace culture based on racist and sexist abuse and discrimination against its own employees,” said investor Solomon Chau.
“This toxic work environment has been brewing internally for years, and only recently has the truth about Tesla’s culture come to light,” he added in the lawsuit.
“Tesla’s toxic workplace culture has caused financial damage and irreparable damage to the company’s reputation.”
Tesla did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment outside of normal business hours in the United States. Kendall Law Group PLLC, the attorneys representing Chau, were not available outside of regular business hours in the United States. Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has taken steps to address worker complaints. The lawsuit accuses the defendants – Musk, 11 members of Tesla’s board of directors and the company – of having breached their fiduciary duty by failing to address and remedy red flags regarding internal reports of discrimination and harassment. This caused Tesla to lose high-quality employees and incur costs to defend cases and settle fines for violations, according to the lawsuit.
The case is Chau et al v. Musk et al, US District Court, Western District of Texas (Austin), 1:22-cv-00592.