Tesla chief executive Elon Musk challenged US labour union United Auto Workers to organise a vote at the electric car maker's Fremont, California, factory.
The announcement comes as the billionaire entrepreneur criticised President Joe Biden's administration and Democrats for a proposal to give union-made, US-built electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax incentive. Tesla and foreign car makers do not have unions at their US factories.
In his tweet on Thursday, Mr Musk said the real challenge was the negative unemployment in Bay Area and that not compensating people well would make them leave, as they have many offers.
“I'd like hereby to invite UAW to hold a union vote at their convenience. Tesla will do nothing to stop them,” he said.
Mr Musk has faced the ire of the US National Labour Relations Board, which last year ruled the company had violated labour law. It also ordered Tesla to direct him to delete a 2018 tweet saying employees would lose their stock options if they formed a union.
He tweeted in May of 2018: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tomorrow if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is [two times] better than when plant was UAW and everybody already gets health care.”
Tesla subsequently appealed the board's ruling with the New Orleans-based US Court of Appeals. The case is still pending.
The company is also facing several lawsuits alleging racial discrimination and sexual harassment. A California agency last month filed a lawsuit against the company's Fremont plant, accusing it of segregating black employees at the factory.
Tesla has said it does not tolerate discrimination and has taken steps to address complaints by workers.
Mr Musk and his brother, Kimbal, are also under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over recent stock sells. The Tesla chief executive claims the SEC is “harassing” him with an “unrelenting” investigation because he has spoken against the US government.
Mr Biden has often praised the electric-vehicle efforts made by Detroit car makers General Motors and Ford Motor, including during his State of the Union Speech on Tuesday, even though they sell fewer EVs than Tesla.
The president did not mention Tesla by name in the speech.
“Tesla has created over 50,000 US jobs building electric vehicles & is investing more than double GM and Ford combined,” Mr Musk said in a tweet following the president's address.
Last month, Mr Biden, whom Mr Musk this year compared to a “damp sock puppet”, acknowledged Tesla's leadership role in making EVs after Mr Musk repeatedly complained of being ignored.
Last autumn, Mr Musk said Mr Biden's EV policy appeared to be controlled by labour unions.
Under federal law, at least 30 per cent of workers at a plant or company must sign a petition showing they want to join a union for an election to be held.
Typically, unions like the UAW will not seek an election unless they feel they have the necessary support to win the majority backing necessary.
Agencies contributed to this report
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
