A lawsuit filed against Tesla, the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk, alleges the company systematically prefers H-1B visa holders over American citizens when hiring and firing employees to save on labour costs. The proposed class-action complaint was submitted Friday in San Francisco federal court and accuses Tesla of violating federal civil rights laws.
According to the complaint, Tesla’s alleged bias disproportionately affects US citizens, particularly in highly skilled roles that the company often fills with H-1B visa holders. The lawsuit claims that this practice allows Tesla to pay lower wages to visa-dependent employees compared with American workers performing similar duties.
ALLEGED BIAS AGAINST AMERICAN APPLICANTS
The lawsuit was brought by software engineer Scott Taub and human resources specialist Sofia Brander. Both individuals say Tesla refused to hire them after finding they would not require employment sponsorship, indicating that they were US citizens.
Taub alleged he was discouraged from applying for a position after being told it was H-1B only. He claimed the company excluded him from an interview for a second role.
Brander, who had previously worked at Tesla as a contract employee, said she was denied interviews for two positions despite her prior experience with the company.
“While visa workers make up just a fraction of the United States labour market, Tesla prefers these candidates over US citizens, as it can pay visa-dependent employees less than Americans performing the same work — a practice known in the industry as wage theft,” the complaint states.
ELON MUSK’S H-1B RELIANCE
The complaint said Tesla relies heavily on H-1B visa holders for technical roles. In 2024 alone, Tesla reportedly hired approximately 1,355 visa workers while laying off more than 6,000 US employees, the majority believed to be American citizens.
The lawsuit also quoted a social media post by Musk from December 27, 2024, in which the Tesla CEO acknowledged his own reliance on the H-1B system. Musk wrote that the visa had been critical for him and other key individuals who helped build companies such as SpaceX and Tesla.
The lawsuit seeks compensation for all US citizens who applied for Tesla positions in the United States but were not hired, as well as those who were employed by Tesla and subsequently terminated.
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With inputs from agencies