Weeks after Elon Musk tweeted an offensive joke, allegations surfaced that sexual harassment at … [+]
Just weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a joke referring to female anatomy, a Tesla factory worker is alleging that sexual harassment is rampant at the electric vehicle company. The harassment allegations describe that the atmosphere on the factory floor was like a fraternity.
Jessica Barraza’s complaint, filed in Superior Court of California in Alameda County on Thursday, alleges, “Tesla’s factory floor more resembles a crude, archaic construction site or frat house than a cutting-edge company in the heart of the progressive San Francisco Bay Area. The pervasive culture of sexual harassment which included a daily barrage of sexist language and behavior, including frequent groping on the factory floor, is known to supervisors and managers and often perpetrated by them.”
Barraza alleges she was subject to crude comments about her body, including comments like “look at those titties” and “she’s got cakes.” She also received propositions. A lead in the factory allegedly texted her “I just think you sexy asf and wanted to kick it some time, you kno I always had a crush on yo fine ass.” When she declined his advances, he replied it made him want her more. Her complaint also alleges physical touching on several occasions. She describes how a colleague stuck his leg between her thighs as she was clocking back in after lunch. (The Washington Post corroborated this allegation with another Tesla worker).
According to the complaint, Barraza experienced panic attacks as a result of the harassment, and Barraza’s doctor diagnosed her with PTSD and put her on medical leave from her work on the factory floor. (Barraza works as a production associate on the Tesla Model 3.) Despite her repeated complaints about the hostile work environment, she says nothing was done. When it got so bad that her panic attacks sent her to the emergency room, her supervisor allegedly threatened to create a disciplinary report for “job abandonment.” Tesla has not commented on the allegations.
The tone at Tesla seems to go all the way to the C-suite. Just weeks before the lawsuit was filed, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “Am thinking of starting a new university: Texas Institute of Technology & Science” He added in a later tweet that the university would have “epic merch.” Readers were left to figure out that the acronym for the proposed university would be TITS.
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Having the CEO set a positive example is the textbook first step in reducing harassment. By contrast, when the CEO tweets jokes referring to female anatomy, it gives a free pass to employees who want to behave like they’re in a fraternity instead of a Fortune 500 company. It sends a message about the type of behavior that’s valued within the company. It sends a message about how women are respected (or not).
“That doesn’t set a good example for the factory — it almost gives it like an … ‘he’s tweeting about it, it has to be okay,’ ” Barraza told the Washington Post about Musk’s tweets. “It’s not fair to myself, to my family to other women who are working there.” Few women would likely want to work for an organization whose leader tweets such jokes. It objectifies women.
Not only must the CEO not behave like an adolescent in order to create a hospitable environment for women, but he or she should be proactive in enforcing harassment policies and in creating a hospitable work environment. News broke this week that the CEO of video game company Activision knew about allegations of employee misconduct in many parts of the company. The CEO chose not to inform Activision’s board about his knowledge even after investigations began. The Wall Street Journal found that some of the employees who were accused of misconduct were praised on the way out, and coworkers were asked to remain silent about the matters. Silence from the top isn’t the way to make these matters disappear.
Musk built a fabulous electric car, pioneered reusable rockets and has a plan to allow commuters to travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 35 minutes or less. He can figure out how to make Tesla a hospitable environment for women, he just needs to make it a priority. In the mean time, a Tesla employee is allegedly seeking medical help and suffering PTSD. Hopefully, he will at least realize his Twitter joke isn’t funny.
