Tesla, EEOC Plan Talks to Settle Factory Racism Suit

Tesla Inc. will enter into settlement negotiations with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the agency’s 2023 lawsuit accusing the electric-vehicle maker of race-based harassment at its California factory.

The agency said in a Tuesday court filing that Tesla has agreed to private mediation in the case, which is expected to take place in March or April after the two sides select a mediator.

“Should this matter not resolve through settlement discussions and mediation efforts, the parties will submit to the court on or before June 17, 2026, a proposed protocol for the next phase of the litigation,” lawyers for the EEOC said in the filing.

The lawsuit accuses Tesla of subjecting Black workers at its Fremont factory to “severe or pervasive racial harassment” and claims that leaders at the company unfairly retaliated against workers who complained.

Tesla and the EEOC engaged in “mandatory mediation” in June 2023, but did not come to a resolution.

Lawyers for Tesla and the EEOC didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tesla, 3:23-cv-04984, US District Court, Northern District of California.

Top photo: Tesla vehicles at the company’s assembly plant in Fremont, California, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg.