Six sexual harassment cases have been filed against Tesla in Alameda County Superior Court in California, suggesting that female staff at the factory in Fremont were exposed to inappropriate touching, lewd comments, and harassed in other ways, according to a report in the Washington Post.
"Although Tesla publicly claims that it fosters a safe and respectful environment for its workers, the truth is that for years Tesla has subjected women working in its Fremont facilities to nightmarish conditions of rampant sexual harassment," the opening paragraph of each lawsuit reads.
Motorists drive past Tesla's primary vehicle factory after CEO Elon Musk announced he was defying local officials' restrictions against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by reopening the plant in Fremont, California, U.S. May 12, 2020
© REUTERS / STEPHEN LAM
"Tesla's facilities more resemble a crude, archaic construction site or frat house than a cutting-edge company in the heart of the progressive San Francisco Bay Area."
The women reportedly said that colleagues frequently made lewd comments about their bodies or clothes. One of them, Jessica Brooks, said she had to tie a flannel shirt around her waist to cover her bottom and barricade her workplace with boxes. Another woman, who filed the lawsuit, Eden Mederos, said that some of Elon Musk's tweets were suggestively lewd and "caused the technicians to be even worse".
The lawsuits were filed just days after Erica Cloud, an assembly line worker at Tesla, also filed a complaint, saying she was subject to sexual remarks from her manager, and accusing the tech company of failing to tackle the workplace harassment issues.