Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit. (File)
Washington:
On Tuesday, six women sued Tesla, alleging a culture of sexual harassment at its California electric car factory and other facilities including unwanted touching, encountering and retaliation against complainants. complain.
The harassment lawsuits – filed nearly a month after two others – add to controversies centered on the Fremont plant in the San Francisco Bay area and include a former Black employee being awarded $137 million. dollars in a case of racism.
“Tesla’s factory floor is more like an ancient rudimentary construction site or a brother home than a cutting-edge company in the heart of the burgeoning San Francisco Bay Area,” one of the lawsuits claims. .
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit, which in at least one case alleges that CEO Elon Musk’s provocative or explicit tweets influenced tone in the workplace.
Six separate new lawsuits filed Tuesday in a California court allege that co-workers or supervisors made sexual suggestions to women, made graphic comments about their bodies and in In some cases, touching them inappropriately.
Five of the women in these new cases work or work in Fremont factory facilities, while one works at service centers in southern California.
Musk Tweets
One of the women was 18 years old when she started her job at the Fremont factory and within weeks her supervisor and co-workers made explicit comments about her body.
A male colleague suggested sex to her, saying that factory workers often had sex in the parking lot. She quit her job after two months.
She “saw other women going through similar environments, and witnesses will testify that they observed rampant sexual harassment at Tesla,” her lawsuit alleges.
Other women allege in her lawsuit that she faces retaliation for reporting misconduct.
“She was denied certain privileges and benefits afforded to women who did not object to her supervisor’s sexual advances and advances,” one of the complaints said.
Another woman, who works at Tesla service centers in southern California, said Musk’s tweets mentioning sex or drugs inspired laughter and jokes among her colleagues. aunt.
“When Tesla launched the Model Y, Elon repeatedly pointed out that when one reads the Models Tesla S, 3, X and Y together, it would spell ‘SEXY’,” her suit said. “Some of Ms. Mederos’ colleagues started this and called everything ‘sexy.'”
The new lawsuit comes after a California grand jury ruled in October that Tesla must pay $137 million to a former Black employee for turning a blind eye to the racism that man encountered at the Fremont plant.
Last year, Musk antagonized the administration over reopening the factory amid coronavirus restrictions and threatened to move his headquarters out of state.
Musk then told investors in October that the leading electric vehicle maker was moving headquarters to Texas, where it was building a factory.
