Tesla racial discrimination trial opens in California

The California Civil Rights Department's lawsuit alleging systemic racial discrimination against Black workers at Tesla's Fremont factory began trial with opening statements on Monday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland. The state agency filed the suit in February 2022 after what it described as a nearly three-year investigation prompted by hundreds of worker complaints. The case covers more than 6,000 workers and is the first discrimination lawsuit brought against Tesla by a government agency on behalf of workers to reach a full trial. Brett Watson, a lawyer for the Civil Rights Department, showed the court photographs of racist graffiti found at the factory, including the N-word, KKK, swastikas, the Confederate flag and other white supremacist imagery scrawled on walls, bathrooms, lockers and lunch tables. Watson said Black employees experienced rampant racism left unchecked for years and that hundreds of complaints show the conduct was not isolated. The complaint alleges the factory was racially segregated, with Black workers assigned to the lowest-paying jobs, paid less, promoted less and disciplined more harshly than white counterparts.