Elon Musk’s has been accused in a lawsuit of favoring visa holders over American workers with the goal of paying lower wages.
Reuters reports that a proposed class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court on Friday alleges that Tesla violated federal civil rights law through its “systematic preference” to hire visa holders and fire U.S. citizens at disproportionate rates compared to H-1B visa holders. The complaint claims that Tesla is dependent on H-1B visa holders for skilled workers and that this practice allows the company to pay these employees less than their American counterparts, a practice known in the industry as “wage theft.”
The lawsuit was brought by software engineer Scott Taub and human resources specialist Sofia Brander, who claim that Tesla refused to hire them after learning they would not need sponsorship for employment, indicating they were U.S. citizens. Taub alleges he was dissuaded from seeking one job after being told it was for “H1B only” and was not invited to interview for a second job. Brander claims Tesla wouldn’t interview her for two jobs despite having been a contract employee twice before.
According to the complaint, in 2024, Tesla hired an estimated 1,355 visa holders while laying off more than 6,000 workers domestically, with “the vast majority” believed to be U.S. citizens. The lawsuit also quotes a December 27, 2024 post on X by Elon Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born and raised in South Africa and has held an H-1B visa, stating, “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.”
Breitbart News previously reported on Elon Musk raging at conservatives who believe the H-1B visa system is abused by companies importing cheap workers from India and China:
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,” Musk raged in response to the X user. “Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
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This is not the first incendiary comment Musk has made during the contentious online debate about the H1-B visa.
He accused many users who are critical of the visa program of racism and said that these “contemptible fools” must be removed from the Republican Party, although he later emphasized that he was specifically referring to the “hateful, unrepentant racists”
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Daniel Kotchen, declined to provide additional comment on how they plan to demonstrate Tesla’s alleged systemic discrimination in hirings and firings. The lawsuit seeks damages for all U.S. citizens who applied for Tesla jobs in the United States and were not hired, or worked for Tesla there and were fired.
Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The case, titled Taub et al v Tesla Inc, has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under case number 25-07785.
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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