'Auto Trends' Revisits Tesla's Bumpy Racial History With Its Black Workforce (Two Shows)

In 2021, Tesla was winning the electric car race in terms of sales and record setting stock prices. Almost four years later, Tesla has been on a rollercoaster ride. While Tesla is still number one in the U.S. electric car market, both sales and stocks have tumbled. Some of the sales fallout is attributed to more electric vehicle competition in the market, while the lion's share of the luxury brand's ills have been driven by CEO's Elon Musk's new role as what many see as co-President of the United States of America. 

Elon Musk's Role As Co-President

Musk's active role in overseeing the dismantling of the federal government has led to a backlash to his electric car company as well as some of Tesla car owners both here in the states and abroad.

Black Men And Their Affinity Toward Tesla

With that being the case, Auto Trends with JeffCars.com is reairing a conversation from 2021 involving the Black employees at his manufacturing plant in California. Also based on the last multicultural sales study we reviewed, the Tesla brand is the number one registered luxury brand by Black men. Ironically, this is not case with Black women. In fact, the Tesla brand doesn't rank on Black women's list of top ten registered new vehicles. 

What's driving Black men and Black women to view the embattled automaker through different lens? What role does style, technology and socially conscious play with both genders? Are many who are driving Teslas unaware of the brand's fractured relationship with their small Black workforce?

Tesla And Their Black Workforce In 2021

Fast forward here's where Tesla stood in 2021 when we last had an in depth conversation where the jury awarded the largest verdict in a discrimination case in the U.S. involving a single worker against the automaker. 

According to the latest industry data, Black car buyers account for 4 percent of Tesla’s annual new vehicle sales. Black workers and managers, account for 10 percent and 4 percent, respectively, of the company’s workforce. Moreover, up until 2019, Linda Johnson Rice, whose father founded Ebony Magazine, was the first and only African American to serve on the automaker’s board, until she and two others opted not to stay on as directors.

Even more important, earlier this month, after the luxury electric car company was hit with a $137 million judgement for workplace racism, numerous critics believe that Tesla’s response is indicative of how tone deaf they are.

Conversely, the eye-popping $137 million racial discrimination verdict, which is the largest individual judgement in U.S. history, according to Diversity Inc Magazine, is expected to be appealed.

Legal experts believe that an internal employee memo that was written by Tesla’s vice president of people, who is a Black female, signals that the carmaker plans on challenging the verdict. Not only does the memo signal a re-examination of the jury's decision, but, many both inside and outside the Black community, have found what the vice president of people penned public statement, as being quite troubling, considering she is Black.

After Several Rulings .. The Final 2024 Verdict

We must note the judgement was dropped to $15 million, after a judge found the initial ruling to be excessive. Diaz opted for a retrial which resulted in a new trial awarding $3.2 million in 2023. Still Diaz wasn't conceding, and in 2024 the case was finally concluded with a confidential settlement with both parties.

How To Tune In For Free And Online:

In a two-part in-depth conversation, attorney Larry Organ, who is known as one of the best San Francisco Bay area attorneys for both sexual harassment and discrimination cases, and his client, Owen Diaz join Auto Trends with JeffCars.com to discuss what led up to the filing of this case, the 2021 trial, the 2021 verdict and their response to the vice president of people memo.

To Tune In To Part One Of The 2021 Tesla Racial Discrimination Conversation

To hear the 2021 conversation, tune in to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, on Saturday, March 22 thru Thursday, March 27. The program will air on SiriusXM 141 and on several FM radio and online outlets. To get an updated schedule, visit Jeffcars.com or tune in here.

To Tune In To Part Two Of The Tesla 2021 Racial Discrimination Conversation

To hear the conversation, tune in to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, on Saturday, March 29 thru Thursday, April 3. The program will air on SiriusXM 141 and on several FM radio and online outlets. To get an updated schedule, visit Jeffcars.com or tune in here.