--- title: "Tesla Factory Accused of Displaying Swastikas and Other Racist Material" description: "Tesla is once again being sued for discrimination over alleged racist displays and retaliation at its California factories." date: "2023-10-02" modified: "2023-10-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/tesla-racist-graffiti-discrimination-lawsuit" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "discrimination" - "racism" - "tesla" - "workers' rights" --- # Tesla Factory Accused of Displaying Swastikas and Other Racist Material ![Tesla is once again being sued for discrimination over alleged racist displays and retaliation at its California factories.]() *\Image: Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty/Futurism\* Tesla is once again being sued for discrimination over alleged displays of deeply racist material and retaliation against those who complained at its California factories. In the [lawsuit filed in Northern California's district court](), the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed that Tesla was in violation of 1964's landmark Civil Rights Act by retaliating against Black employees at its Fremont factories who brought up concerns about racist graffiti and mistreatment they saw and experienced. The EEOC said in its suit that starting in 2015, Black employees were subjected not only to gratuitous displays of racial slurs, epithets, and symbols, but also to verbal discrimination from non-Black coworkers, some of whom were in positions of power over the employees involved in the suit. Black employees at Tesla who took part in the lawsuit "found such graffiti on a variety of surfaces, including on desks, in elevators, and on equipment, including vehicles rolling off the production lines" and "described the prevalence of racist imagery as 'frequent,' 'constant,' 'a regular thing,' and occurring 'too many times to count," the federal filing claims. As one of the workers quoted in the suit recounted, the experience of seeing "KKK epithets, a swastika, and the N-word all over the bathroom... was so gross and racist" that they initially didn't want to talk to anyone about it. Along with the graffiti, the former Tesla employees who took part in the lawsuit said that the verbal use of the N-word was "casual and normal" among their non-Black coworkers and supervisors, and by white men in particular. "Non-Black workers have referred to Black employees as 'Black bitch,' 'Black ass bitch,' 'boy,' and 'monkey,' among other slurs," the lawsuit alleges. "Non-Black workers have also mocked Black employees by making 'monkey' noises." As if seeing and hearing racial slurs everywhere wasn't enough, the lawsuit also claims that after employees reported the graffiti and harassment to their superiors, they would often be subject to retaliation "through schedule changes, less desirable duties, reassignments, unjustified write-ups, and discharge." "Tesla has fired Black employees within weeks of them reporting or opposing racial harassment," the suit reads. "Tesla fired one Black employee who had opposed harassment right after advising her of Tesla's policy not to retaliate." When not firing or punishing workers for reporting harassment and graffiti, other Tesla supervisors and human resources officials who witnessed or were made aware of the behavior "refused to intercede," the suit claims, and often failed to take appropriate action as well. In the suit, the EEOC said that it invited Tesla to take part in informal mediation procedures as an "opportunity to remedy the discriminatory practices," but the company ultimately didn't agree to anything that the commission found acceptable. This is far from the first time [Tesla's been sued]() for [racial discrimination](), with its [Fremont factories]() [in particular]() drawing notable heat. In spite of this incredibly bad press, however, Tesla's star — [and stock value]() — continues to rise, making an unsettling point about how [fans of the electric vehiclemaker]() view the racism at the locations where their cars are made. **More on Tesla:** [*Elon Musk, Renowned for Throwing Stones, Accused of Building Glass House With Company Funds*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()