Brawls, racism and cocaine: Lawsuit reveals life inside Tesla plant where Musk was directly involved with HR decisions [View all]

Source: The Independent

Friday 08 August 2025 17:27 EDT


Working conditions at Tesla’s manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, have allegedly gone from bad to worse, with sexual assaults aboard company shuttle buses, drug and alcohol use onsite, all-out brawls breaking out between employees and “prevalent” bigotry – including widespread use of the N-word, a bombshell lawsuit reveals.

In a 159-page federal lawsuit filed Thursday and obtained first by The Independent, Ozell Murray, a former Fresno police officer in charge of security at the 22,000-person factory, claims he and his team “routinely” seized cocaine and fentanyl onsite, confiscated guns discovered in the building, investigated “acts of sexual deviance” on Tesla grounds, and, at regular intervals, “pulled employees off the manufacturing line and sent them home for being alcohol-intoxicated and high on drugs.”

Those who reported the issues were fired over bogus charges or forced to resign, according to Murray’s complaint, to which several of his ex-colleagues signed on as co-defendants.

“Healthy profits have always been more important to the Company than a healthy working environment,” the complaint alleges. “For Tesla, more bodies on the manufacturing line meant more vehicles flying out the factory door – no matter how unclean the hands were that were assembling those cars.”

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/tesla-lawsuit-elon-musk-california-b2804549.html