Tesla asks judge to pause suit alleging ‘rampant racism’ against Black workers

Tesla has asked a California judge to pause a lawsuit against the company alleging widespread racial discrimination at its flagship assembly plant.

In a Monday court filing, Tesla said the state should further investigate allegations brought against it by the state's department of fair employment and housing (DFEH) and allow a chance to settle the litigation.

The suit filed by the DFEH alleges that Black workers in the company's Fremont factory experienced "rampant racism" that the company left "unchecked for years". But Tesla's lawyers said in the Monday filing that the DFEH conducted a "bare bones investigation" before suing and did not share many worker complaints with the company until after the lawsuit was filed.

The company added that the DFEH violated a state law requiring the agency to take various steps before suing an employer. Tesla is seeking to pause the lawsuit for 120 days and force DFEH into mediation to address the claims with the company outside of court.

Tesla is also facing a separate suit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and claimed in its filing that the DFEH may have rushed to file its lawsuit in February as part of a "turf war" with the federal agency.

The DFEH last month lost an attempt to block an $18m settlement between the EEOC and Activision Blizzard in a sex discrimination case. The agency had said the settlement could interfere with its own sex bias lawsuit against Activision.

DFEH did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EEOC spokesperson said the agency did not comment on pending investigations.

The suits against Tesla are two of many facing the company and its chief executive, Elon Musk. Investors at Twitter announced a suit against Musk last week regarding his recent investments in the company. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Musk and his brother for insider trading. On Friday, a judge settled another suit against Musk, ruling he had falsely claimed he had funds to take the company private in 2018.

It is also not the first time Tesla has been accused of tolerating egregious discrimination at the Fremont plant. In 2017 it faced a class action suit regarding widespread racism at the factory, and a jury in 2021 ruled in favor of a former employee who alleged discrimination and was awarded $130m in damages.

A federal judge in California last week awarded $15m to a former Tesla elevator operator in a racial bias case. The judge slashed a $137m jury verdict but said the plaintiff had shown ample evidence of racial abuse and Tesla's failure to address it.

Reuters contributed to this report