By Michael Elkins
A new racial bias lawsuit has been filed against Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) by a worker who says he was fired for pushing back against comments by his white supervisor that he claims were racist.
John Goode, who oversaw a Tesla service center near Atlanta, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court on Thursday claiming a regional manager blocked him from consideration for a promotion before having him fired on false pretenses on March 3.
The lawsuit comes as a trial in a racial harassment lawsuit by a Black former elevator operator at Tesla's Fremont, California, factory is scheduled to wrap up on Friday.
In the new lawsuit, Goode claims that over the course of 2022 the white regional manager made a series of offensive comments. The manager said Black people "are only good at sports and entertainment" and "just scream and holler in church," according to the complaint.
Goode claims that last October the manager blocked him from interviewing for a promotion that ultimately went to a white worker.
Goode says he subsequently told the manager that his racial comments were unprofessional and weeks later was suspended and then fired for being late in turning in expense reports. Tesla company policy does not set a deadline for the reports, Goode claims.
The lawsuit, which alleges violations of California and federal laws banning workplace race discrimination and retaliation, seeks damages for lost wages and benefits and emotional distress and punitive damages.
Tesla has denied wrongdoing in both cases and has said the lawsuit by the California Civil Rights Department was politically motivated.
Shares of TSLA are up 5.88% in afternoon trading on Friday.