Elon Musk departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Tesla has received requests from the Justice Department for documents related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features, according to a regulatory filing. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File)
A 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a March 2021 order by the National Labor Relations Board, which ordered that the tweet be deleted. The case arose from United Auto Workers' organizing efforts at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California.
Also upheld was the board's order that Tesla reinstate and provide back pay to an employee who was fired for union-organizing activity.
Musk tweeted on May 20, 2018: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.”
The ruling said that "because stock options are part of Tesla’s employees’ compensation, and nothing in the tweet suggested that Tesla would be forced to end stock options or that the UAW would be the cause of giving up stock options, substantial evidence supports the NLRB’s conclusion that the tweet is as an implied threat to end stock options as retaliation for unionization.”
Neither Tesla nor the UAW has responded to emailed requests for comment Friday afternoon.
To celebrate Flutter Entertainment's debut on the NYSE, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe shares her thoughts on the company's plans for growth, the future of online sportsbetting, and Super Bowl Sunday.
Investopedia's Caleb Silver shares thoughts on the upcoming Fed meeting, why individual investors are still slightly skeptical, and what he's looking for from mega cap tech earnings.
Season's greetings! Tax season, that is. January 29 is the first day you can file your tax return. We walk you through each step — plus a checklist you can download.
The Q-Collar helps protect athletes from impact-related concussions. Now, the U.S. Army is evaluating if the device could help reduce traumatic brain injury cased by blast weapons.
Co-founder and executive chairman of the board at Vaxxinity Lou Reese shares how the company is working to bring vaccines for chronic illnesses like heart disease and Parkinson’s to market with an eye for accessibility.
Mario Veneroso, Kingsview Asset Management Partner, weighs in on the latest economic data and whether the market is pricing in too many rate cuts for the coming year.
Apple has rolled out an update to its operating system this week with a feature called Stolen Device Protection. It makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings, and users are being urged to turn it on immediately.
