Tesla Investor Sues Elon Musk For Alleged Toxic Work Culture

A Tesla investor, Solomon Chau, is set to sue his company’s chairman and new Twitter owner, Elon Musk as well as the rest of Tesla’s board over claims of workplace harassment.

The lawsuit marks the latest in a number of accusations of discrimination in Tesla’s factories over: “toxic workplace culture grounded in racist and sexist abuse.”

According to court document made available to the media, the litigant brought the complaint against Musk and the other members of Tesla’s board on June 16, claiming: “Tesla has created a toxic workplace culture grounded in racist and sexist abuse and discrimination against its own employees.”

Chau alleged in the lawsuit that “Tesla’s toxic workplace culture has caused financial harm and irreparable damage to the Company’s reputation.”

The lawsuit goes on to allege that “the Company’s idealistic sheen obscures a disturbing and regressive reality for its workers,” adding a “toxic work environment has gestated internally for years.”

Chau’s lawsuit was brought in the US District Court of the Western District of Texas (Austin). It is the latest in a series of legal complaints that have centered on allegations of racial and sexist discrimination in Tesla factories.

Tesla and Elon Musk did not respond to request for comment made outside of normal working hours.

Recall that in February, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Tesla in February 2022 after the regulator said it received hundreds of complaints from workers alleging racial discrimination, following a three-year investigation.

In late 2021, Tesla was ordered to pay $137 million to a former employee who accused the company of racial harassment. Reportedly, Owen Diaz, an elevator operator at Tesla, said colleagues told him to “go back to Africa” and that he suffered sleepless nights while working for the electric carmaker.

Reportedly, the payout total was slashed from $137 million to $15 million in April 2022.

In March 2022, dozens of former Tesla employees said they had faced sexual harassment such as catcalls, groping, and slurs while on the job.

A lawsuit filed in November 2021 by a former Tesla factory worker, Jessica Barraza, alleged that female employees at the company faced “rampant sexual harassment.”