Former Black Tesla Employee Awarded $3.2 Million Over Racist Treatment

Being racist is always going to cost you. Just ask Tesla.

The New York Times reports a jury ordered the electric car company to pay a former Black employee $3.2 million after it was accused of ignoring racial abuse while he worked at its California factory.

While working as a contractor, Owen Diaz claimed he was subjected to numerous racist offenses between 2015 and 2016. During his employment, a supervisor and other Tesla workers continuously used racial slurs, referencing him. Employees also wrote racial epithets and drew symbols and caricatures around the factory.

While the awarded amount sounds like a win, it was much less than what was anticipated. Two years ago, a different jury awarded Diaz $137 million, mainly in punitive damages. The judge then reduced the figure to $15 million. Diaz denied the offer and challenged for a new trial.

After a five-day trial, $3 million in punitive damages was awarded and $175,000 in past and future noneconomic damages. According to CNN, Tesla has repeatedly denied the charges. However, the company admits there were problems that needed to be addressed at the plant.

“We do recognize that in 2015 and 2016 we were not perfect. We’re still not perfect,” former Tesla Vice President Valerie Capers Workman said in 2021. “But we have come a long way from five years ago. We continue to grow and improve in how we address employee concerns.”

Bernard Alexander, Diaz’s legal counsel, said the racist remarks took an emotional toll on his client, who dealt with it the best way he could. He decided to speak up once his son started working there and received the same treatment.

“The prevalence of the use of the N-word inside of Tesla’s workplace is an indication that they did not care about how their African American employees felt,” Alexander said. “It was a complete affront to every African American inside the workplace.”