Black Tesla Workers Can’t File A Class Action Lawsuit Against Owners For Racial Harassment

A California state court has ruled that 6,000 Black workers at Tesla’s assembly plant cannot file a class action lawsuit against the American giant over alleged racial harassment.

This overturned an earlier ruling, which represents a major victory for billionaire electric vehicle maker Elon Musk, Reuters reported.

In the latest ruling, the 2017 lawsuit could not survive as a class action because the plaintiffs’ lawyers were unable to find 200 class members willing to testify before a trial scheduled for 2026. The competent judge stated that “the experiences of a small sample of workers cannot be applied to the whole group.”

Tesla announced that it does not tolerate harassment in the workplace and that it fired employees who engaged in racial violence.

The plaintiff, former assembly line worker Marcus Vaughn, alleged that Black workers at the Fremont, California, factory were subjected to a variety of racist abuse, including insults, graffiti, and even nooses hanging from their workplaces. The trial was scheduled for April of next year, two months before proceedings related to similar lawsuits against Tesla by the California civil rights agency.

Tesla also faces racial discrimination lawsuits in federal court in California, filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal anti-discrimination laws. The company has also reached agreements in other individual lawsuits related to racial discrimination, according to Tanjug.

• Also See: “I Don’t Know If Tesla Will Be There For Another Ten Years,” Former CEO Of Stellantis