A California state judge has ruled against class-action status for a 2017 lawsuit alleging racial harassment at Tesla's Fremont plant, affecting more than 6,000 Black workers. The decision reverses a 2024 certification and requires individual lawsuits. Tesla hailed the ruling as a victory, while plaintiffs' lawyers vowed to continue the fight.
On Friday, California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon decertified a class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 by former Tesla assembly-line worker Marcus Vaughn. The suit alleged that Black workers at Tesla's Fremont, California, factory faced racist conduct, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses at workstations. Vaughn described the production floor as a "hotbed for racist behavior," with over 100 employees reportedly experiencing harassment.
Borkon's ruling came after plaintiffs' attorneys failed to secure testimony from 200 randomly selected class members ahead of a trial scheduled for April 2026. The judge stated he could not trust that the experiences of a smaller sample could apply to the entire class of more than 6,000 workers. A different judge had certified the class in 2024, believing a large-scale trial would be manageable, but Borkon disagreed following Tesla's appeal.
Lawrence Organ, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, attributed the reluctance to testify to many workers being low-income and unable to miss work. "Either together with other victims, or separately, these courageous Black workers will overcome Tesla’s endless delays and continue fighting to hold the company accountable," Organ said in a statement.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment but has maintained it does not tolerate workplace harassment and has fired employees involved in racial misconduct. The company faces related challenges, including a federal race discrimination suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a state civil rights agency trial set for June 2026. Tesla has settled other individual race discrimination claims, including a confidential agreement last year with an employee who reported swastikas and racist drawings in his workspace.