A second judge has ruled that Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont factory endured years of systemic racial harassment, potentially paving the way for thousands of additional claims against the electric car manufacturer for mistreatment.
Judge Noël Wise of Alameda County Superior Court, in a recent decision on a lawsuit brought by former Black Tesla employees, referenced over 500 sworn statements from workers detailing instances of racial abuse.
Among the declarations, approximately two-thirds of the more than 200 Black workers stated they witnessed anti-Black graffiti, including symbols like nooses, racial epithets, and swastikas. Additionally, about three-quarters reported hearing derogatory references to the Fremont plant as “The Plantation” or the “Slave Ship,” with a quarter stating that they were directly subjected to racial slurs by superiors.
These accounts, according to Wise, indicate a pervasive pattern of racial harassment over an eight-year span at the Fremont factory.
