A little over a week ago, a Tesla employee named Jose Moran had alleged that working conditions in the company's manufacturing plant were dismal and most employees were forced to work overtime.
He had also claimed that due to unsafe machinery, many of the people working with him had experienced injuries.
It was also reported by Moran that most Tesla employees take home around $17 to $21 per hour whereas, the national standard for auto workers is around $25.58. The employee had suggested their only salvation was to unionize with United Auto Workers (UAW). However, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk was strongly opposed to unionization.
With repeated claims like these, Musk retorted by saying that he would conduct an internal investigation to ensure if there was any truth to these allegations and claims.
It now seems that Musk has completed the promised investigations and has come out with a response directed at both Moran and the UAW.
Findings Of Musk's Investigation
Musk stated in an e-mail that he had performed a thorough check of his company and employees and concluded that all the claims made by Moran and UAW were false.
"After looking into this claim, not only was it untrue for this individual's team, it was untrue for any of the hundreds of teams in the factory," wrote Musk in the e-mail shared with Tesla employees.
Moran had claimed that due to stringent overtime policies, six out of eight workers in his team had to take leaves simultaneously once. Musk's investigation though found no such instance have taken place.
The Tesla CEO stated that these allegations were a ploy by the UAW, in tandem with bigger automobile companies, to derail Tesla's success and growth.
"This is David vs Goliath if David were six inches tall!" said Musk in the context.
His investigation also revealed that contrary to claims made by Moran, the total overtime rate has gone down 50 percent from previous years.
Musk dismissed claims regarding lack of work safety by stating that Tesla's accident rate is less than half of the average industry rate. He ensured that Tesla's main priority remains the safety and security of its workers.
Regarding the compensation, he revealed that the workers in the company received equity, which would add up to around $70,000 to $100,000 more than what employees of other automobile companies would get over a four-year period.
Musk even promised a "huge party" for his employees when the Model 3 gets ready for mass production.
It is not known if Musk's investigation findings are accurate, just like there has been no evidence to suggest that the original allegations made by Moran and UAW were true. However, for now, it seems clear that Tesla will not be unionized.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson | Flickr
