Musk blasts claims of poor working conditions at Tesla's California factory

According to foreign media reports, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has launched a fierce counterattack against rumors that employees at the company's Fremont, California, factory have problems with overtime work and underpayment, calling the claims "hypocritical and completely wrong."

Musk responded and commented at length in an email to Tesla employees on Thursday. In the email, Musk hit back at some of the claims made by Jose Moran earlier this month. Jose Moran is an employee from Tesla's Fremont factory who is preparing to join the union. In a blog post, Jose Moran claimed that workers at Tesla's Fremont factory have contacted the union, the United Auto Workers (UAW), hoping that the union will pay attention to the "injuries, low morale, unfair promotions, high workloads, and other issues" they are experiencing.

In his email, Musk said that Jos Moran's statement was incorrect. At the same time, he also portrayed the United Auto Workers (UAW) as an organization that is opposed to Tesla's mission. Musk borrowed the content of the Bible to compare the challenges facing Tesla, saying that the forces opposing Tesla are "numerous and incredibly powerful." At the same time, he also compared the debate surrounding Tesla to the battle between David and Goliath in the mythology. Musk claimed: "Even if David is only six inches tall, he can still defeat the giant Goliath."

"This is why I was distraught after reading recent blog posts about the UAW's involvement at Tesla. The UAW does not share our mission at all and their loyalty is to the big automakers. The union is collecting far more in fees from the big automakers than it is from Tesla employees," Musk said in the email.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has been in contact with Tesla factory employees since at least last year. Earlier this month, the union claimed that they welcomed Tesla employees "with open arms" and hit back at Musk's claim that Jos Moran received compensation from the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Musk refuted Joss Moran's claims point by point in an email. These claims were first published by Electrek. Regarding safety, Musk said he saw Joss Moran claim that at least six of the eight employees on his work team called in sick due to work-related injuries.

He pointed out: "Obviously this is not true: if someone in his team suddenly started taking sick leave for three months straight, it would be impossible to carry out work in this part of our factory."

Musk also said that after deducting equity incentives, Tesla factory workers earn about $70,000 to $100,000 a year, far more than the three largest automakers in the U.S. Jose Moran wrote in his blog that the average hourly wage for Tesla factory workers is about $17 to $21, far below the industry average.

Musk also questioned Joss Moran's claim that Tesla factory employees work 12 hours a day and 6 days a week. Musk responded that the average factory employee works 43 hours a week.

He wrote in the email: "Compared to the most intense period last year, the proportion of employees working overtime has dropped by nearly 50%. At that time, it was because of the need to speed up the production of Model X electric vehicles, so overtime was required. This is the most difficult electric vehicle product ever to manufacture, but we finally achieved amazing results!"

Finally, Musk promised in a relaxed tone in the email that when Tesla starts to make a profit, the company will set up "free frozen yogurt supply points" throughout the factory for everyone. At the same time, electric roller coasters will be installed in the factory area so that employees can "travel easily and quickly in the Fremont factory park."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.