Former Employee’s Lawsuit Says Tesla Is a ‘Hotbed for Racist Behavior’

A black former employee of Tesla Inc. has accused the car maker of rampant racial discrimination in a lawsuit filed Monday, Bloomberg News reports. Marcus Vaughn, who worked in Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory from April 23 to Oct. 31, is seeking permission from a judge to sue on behalf of himself and more than 100 other black employees. Vaughn alleges that the company’s production floor is a “hotbed for racist behavior” where supervisors have regularly used the “N word” around black workers. He says he was fired for “not having a positive attitude” after complaining to human resources about the alleged workplace harassment. “Although Tesla stands out as a groundbreaking company at the forefront of the electric car revolution, its standard operating procedure at the Tesla factory is pre-civil-rights-era race discrimination,” Vaughn wrote in his complaint. He is seeking punitive monetary damages and an order for the company to implement new policies on harassment. Tesla has not yet commented on the allegations.