US regulators have ordered Tesla to honor Elon Musk for deleting a 2018 tweet stating that Tesla activists would lose their stock options if the tweet was deemed an unlawful threat.
According to The National Labor Relations Board, Tesla violated labor laws when it fired a union worker and Musk Tweeted: “Nothing to stop the Tesla team in our car plant from the voting union. They could tmrw if they wanted. But why do unions pay dues and leave stock options for nothing?”
Late Thursday, the federal agency ordered the CEO to delete his tweet and hire terminated employee Richard Ortiz. According to the regulator, the company should compensate Ortiz for its wages, benefits and adverse tax consequences.
The board instructed Tesla to post nationwide, and to hold meetings at its main American car plant in Fremont, California, to inform workers about their protected rights. At the meeting, workers in the presence of musk themselves or a “board agent”, along with security guards, managers and supervisors, must read that notice.
The United Auto Workers, who brought the suit, confirmed the news. Tesla did not return a request for comment.
Ortiz was part of an organizing campaign, “The Fair Future at Tesla.” At the time, Tesla said its business should remain union-free. Musk’s public comment on his Twitter account, where he has millions of followers, was seen as threatening.
Tesla considered Musk’s tweet to be official company communications, as stated in its financial filing. The tweet of an outspoken CEO has a major impact, often causing controversy and stir in growing markets.
“While we celebrate justice in today’s decision, it still highlights substantial flaws in US labor law. Here is a company that has clearly broken the law and is still three years down the road, before these workers achieved a mode of justice, ”said Cindy Estrada, UAW Vice President and Director of the UAW Organizing Department .
The NLRB also instructed Tesla to modify a confidentiality agreement to be given to employees, stating that they were not allowed to speak with the media without explicit written permission. The NLRB said the agreement should be updated as US labor law “generally protects employees when they speak with the media about working conditions, labor disputes or other terms and conditions of employment.”
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