NY Post
By Nicolas Vega
Tesla’s electric-car factory has become a cesspool of racist behavior, with black employees routinely getting subjected to discrimination and slurs, a new report claims.
A half-dozen black employees at the automaker went on the record with the New York Times about a litany of complaints at the Fremont, California, facility, including workers who said they were called the “N-word” and “monkey,” and one who said he encountered a “racist effigy” drawn on a bale of cardboard that included an oversized mouth and a bone stuck in its hair.
In one instance, DeWitt Lambert, an employee from Mobile, Alabama, said that his accent was mocked by white co-workers who peppered him with “frequent racial slurs” and threats, including one employee who said he would “cut you up … so everyone can have a piece of you n—er.”
Other black employees reported being told to perform “menial tasks” that white employees were not asked to do, such as scrubbing the factory floor.
One worker said he was told that he would not be promoted to a leadership position because he was “not Tesla material” and added he heard a supervisor gesture towards some black workers and say “monkeys work outside.”
In a statement to The Post, a Tesla spokesperson said the company has received only a “very small number” of complaints of racist incidents on the factory floor.
“Tesla opposes all forms of discrimination, harassment, and unfair treatment, and we strive to provide a respectful work environment for all employees and do our best to prevent bad conduct,” the spokesperson said.