Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Federal judge denies Tesla's retrial request in case involving worker's claims of racism at factory in Fremont, California

Federal judge denies Tesla's retrial request in case involving worker's claims of racism at factory in Fremont, California

The worker was initially awarded $137 million over the allegations, but a new trial has been set to determine the amount Tesla will have to pay.
A judge denied Tesla's request for a retrial on Wednesday in a lawsuit brought against the electric-car maker, alleging racial discrimination at its factory in Fremont, California. 

US District Judge William H. Orrick halted Tesla's efforts to potentially overturn the racism verdict during a 20-minute motion hearing on Wednesday. Bloomberg was the first to report the judge's decision.

Last year, a jury awarded former Tesla elevator operator Owen Diaz $137 million in his lawsuit against Tesla. Judge Orrick cut the award down to $15 million earlier this year, calling the award "unconstitutionally large."

Diaz refused the lower amount and a new trial has been set to determine how much Tesla will have to pay Diaz in damages. The new trial date is set for March 27, 2023, court filings show. Tesla had originally argued that the amount should be lowered to $600,000.

Diaz's lawyer and a Tesla spokesperson did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

Last year, Diaz's award was believed to be the largest for a racial discrimination lawsuit in history after the jury agreed that Tesla had created a hostile working environment for Diaz, who worked at the carmaker's Fremont factory between 2015 and 2016.

Diaz alleged that Tesla ignored instances of racism at the factory, including claims his coworkers and direct supervisor verbally abused him and that racist graffiti was written on the bathroom walls. 

Diaz was among the first of many Tesla workers at the Fremont factory to file a lawsuit against the company. Since, dozens of workers have alleged racial discrimination and sexual harassment at Tesla. Helen Rella, a New York labor lawyer, previously told Insider that a landmark case like Diaz's could "open the floodgates" to a slew of lawsuits for Tesla.

A California civil rights regulator also sued Tesla last year, alleging it had received "hundreds of complaints from workers" following a three-year investigation.

At the time, Tesla called the lawsuit an attack against "the last remaining automobile manufacturer in California," and said that it "always disciplined and terminated employees who engage in misconduct, including those who use racial slurs or harass others in different ways." The carmaker countersued the agency in September.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×