Elon Musk has had quite the year – he is now the richest person in history and has been named Time’s person of the year. The magazine designated 2021 as ‘Elon Unbound’ with his businesses successes from both Tesla and SpaceX.

However, Musk and Tesla are back in the news – and this time not for a good reason.

Only a few months after the Fortune 100 and electric vehicle company was ordered by a US court to pay $137 million to a former employee in a racism suit, its workplace is back in the courts.

Sexual harassment allegations at Tesla

Hot on the heels of two women suing Tesla for having a “hostile work environment” in its Fremont factory, six more female employees are suing Tesla for alleged sexual harassment at Fremont as well as other California factories.

The most recent plaintiffs claim that they were afflicted to constant sexual harassment at work, including requests for sexual favors and inappropriate touching, according to Vice.

The women claim they felt they had to protect themselves against unwanted sexual advances by wearing bagging clothes and skipping their breaks.

All the suits, which have been filed in Alameda, also allege that Tesla’s response was non-existent. One of the women, Eden Mederos, alleges in the suit that after she reported the incident to HR, her manager prevented her career progression and HR did nothing.

In addition, another plaintiff – Jessica Brooks – was subjected to an unwanted transfer to another department, rather than having her harasser moved.

The women claim that their experience at Tesla severely affected their mental health – Brooks is currently on stress-related leave.

The women suing Tesla have made direct links in their court documents and media interviews between Elon Musk’s own behavior, including outrageous and sexualized tweets, and their personal experience of working at Tesla.

Talking about the suits, David A. Lowe, a partner at Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe LLP, which is representing the women, said to the Washington Post: “What we’re addressing for each of the lawsuits is just a shocking pattern of rampant harassment that exists at Tesla.

“It is pervasive throughout the workplace and now we know it’s not just the factory floor in Fremont but other locations.”

UNLEASH has reached out to Tesla for comment but is yet to receive a reply.