California accuses Tesla of alleged discrimination at plant

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Business Writer

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — California regulators have sued electric car maker Tesla Inc. They allege the company has been discriminating against Black employees who have been likened to monkeys and slaves at the San Francisco Bay Area factory where most of its vehicles are made. The lawsuit seems likely to widen a rift between Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, and the state where he launched the company. Tesla is now worth more than $900 billion, less than 20 years after Musk set out to transform the auto industry. Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, last year after publicly feuding with California officials about pandemic policies.