Tesla

Owen Diaz won a racial-harassment case over Tesla’s Fremont plant; a 2023 retrial set damages at about $3.2 million. California’s CRD (then DFEH) sued in February 2022 alleging pervasive slurs, graffiti, and discrimination in assignments and pay. The EEOC sued in 2023 over alleged widespread harassment. The government suits are complaints, not verdicts in this file.

• $3.2M jury award
  April 2023: jury awarded Diaz about $3.2 millionReuters reported on April 3, 2023, that a federal jury in San Francisco ordered Tesla to pay about $3.2 million to Owen Diaz, a Black former employee, after he won a racial-harassment lawsuit. Diaz alleged managers failed to act when workers used racist slurs and displayed racist graffiti at the Fremont factory. A 2021 jury had awarded $137 million; a judge found Tesla liable but said damages were excessive. Diaz declined a $15 million remittitur, leading to the damages retrial. AP reported the same $3.2 million award.Source: Associated Press ↗
• Confidential (after $3.2M verdict)
  2024: Diaz and Tesla confidentially settled after the $3.2 million verdictOn March 15, 2024, AP reported that Owen Diaz and Tesla reached a “final, binding settlement agreement that fully resolves all claims,” ending appeals of the April 2023 $3.2 million damages verdict. The paid amount was not disclosed. The 2021 jury had awarded $137 million; a judge later offered $15 million, which Diaz declined, leading to the $3.2 million retrial.Source: Associated Press ↗
• EEOC lawsuit
  EEOC sued Tesla over alleged racial harassment at FremontThe EEOC announced a lawsuit charging that Tesla tolerated widespread racial harassment of Black employees at Fremont facilities since at least 2015, including slurs and graffiti, and retaliated against some who complained. The suit (EEOC v. Tesla, No. 4:23-cv-04984, N.D. Cal.) seeks damages and injunctive relief. These are EEOC allegations, not a trial verdict.Source: U.S. EEOC ↗
• State lawsuit
  2022: California sued Tesla over alleged plant-wide race harassmentOn February 9, 2022, California’s civil-rights agency sued Tesla in Alameda County (No. 22CV006830), alleging Black workers were subjected to racial slurs and graffiti and discriminated against in job assignments, pay, promotion, and discipline. The agency said it had received hundreds of complaints and conducted a multi-year investigation. Tesla denies the allegations. In May 2026 CRD said a court had cleared a path toward trial. These are government allegations, not a verdict.Source: California Civil Rights Department ↗
• Case pending
  May 2026: California court kept the state race-harassment case aliveOn May 27, 2026, the California Civil Rights Department said Alameda County Superior Court had rejected Tesla’s latest attempt to throw out CRD’s 2022 lawsuit alleging anti-Black harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at Fremont. The agency said the case was then on track for a July 20, 2026, trial. That order is not a finding of liability.Source: California Civil Rights Department ↗