--- title: "Woman Sues Tesla for “Rampant” Racism" description: "A black woman who used to work at Tesla's plant in California sued the carmaker after suffering \"painful abuses reminiscent of the Jim Crow era.\"" date: "2022-02-04" modified: "2022-02-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/woman-sues-tesla-rampant-racism" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "racism" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Woman Sues Tesla for “Rampant” Racism ![A black woman who used to work at Tesla's plant in California sued the carmaker after suffering "painful abuses reminiscent of the Jim Crow era."]() *\Image: Mason Trinca for The Washington Post via Getty Images\* ## Racial Harassment Racism and abuse are running rampant at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, a former employee says. According to a new lawsuit, Kaylen Barker, a 25-year-old Black woman who used to work at the plant, sued the carmaker after suffering "painful abuses reminiscent of the Jim Crow era," according to official filings [quoted by *CNN*](). During one instance last year, she says management ignored a coworker throwing a "hot tool" at her, while also calling her a racial slur. The coworker was at first fired, but then rehired two weeks later, according to the lawsuit. Barker also alleges she was told by a colleague that a "Black girl" should not work above her after being promoted to be a supervisor. All told, it's a terrible look for Tesla. ## Hell Factory Bolstering the suit, it's far from the first time we've heard allegations of egregious racism at the factory. Last year, Tesla [awarded ex-employee]() Melvin Berry over $1 million in an arbitration hearing after he filed complaints about racist harassment at work. According to his lawsuit, Berry was called the N-word by his direct supervisor. Tesla's massive factory — now the [most productive auto plant]() in North America — has had its fair share of other controversies as well, from [sexual harassment lawsuits]() to reports of [grueling working conditions](). A Tesla factory worker was even [found dead at the assembly line](), and another was [murdered in the parking lot](). According to a [2020 diversity, equity, and inclusion report](), Tesla reported that Black employees make up only ten percent of Tesla's workforce in the US. Women represent only 21 percent. Barker's lawsuit seems emblematic of broadly problematic conditions at Tesla's busiest factory — and it seems reasonable that reforming that culture would be priority one for the Elon Musk led carmaker. **READ MORE:** [Former Tesla worker sues company alleging abuse 'reminiscent of the Jim Crow Era']() \[*CNN*\] **More on Tesla's factory:** *[Tesla Is Absolutely Spraying Out Cars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()