Tesla Spied On Union Organizers On Social Media

CNBC reports:

In 2017 and 2018, as some workers sought to form a union at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company was paying a consultancy, MWW PR, to monitor employees in a Facebook group and more broadly on social media, according to invoices and other documents reviewed by CNBC.

Two things that MWW PR watched closely were discussions alleging unfair labor practices at Tesla, and about a sexual harassment lawsuit, according to the documents describing their work.

While the records confirming Tesla’s surveillance of employees online are years old, they hold new relevance for observers seeking greater understanding of CEO Elon Musk’s priorities where social media is concerned.

Fortune reports:



After Elon Musk appeared ready to shut down Tesla’s work-from-home policy this week, union organizers representing one of its major manufacturing plants have sounded a warning to the tech mogul.

IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, opted to respond. In March, Tesla opened its first manufacturing plant in Europe, called Giga Berlin, in the German state of Brandenburg. “In Germany an employer cannot dictate the rules just as he likes,” said Birgit Dietze, a regional IG Metall leader, in a statement.

“A worker can rely on the strength and power of her or his union if she or he does not want to accept the demands of the company,” she added, recognizing the German constitution’s protections for labor organizing.