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Report: Women discuss discrimination, harassment and “predator zone” at Tesla
At a crowded Fremont Factory meeting, female employees shared stories of sexual harassment, mistreatment by male managers, unfair promotion decisions and more, sources told The Guardian.
One of the women there was AJ Vandermeyden, the female engineer who sued the company for pervasive harassment and pay discrimination. Shortly after this town hall took place, Vandermeyden was fired.
“They just want to absolutely crush anyone who speaks up,” Vandermeyden told the news outlet. “I spoke up, and I was made a sacrificial lamb for it. It’s a scary precedent.”
Tesla has rejected Vandermeyden’s claims, saying she was terminated for “falsely attacking our company in the press.”
CEO Elon Musk did not attend the meeting of about 70-100 people. More than 20 women talked about their experiences, according to Vandermeyden and another attendee, with one woman describing parts of the company’s Fremont factory as a “predator zone” for harassment.
Vandermeyden also said that a number of women raised their hands when asked if they had been catcalled in the factory.
Some women allegedly talked about feeling unsafe and facing sexist remarks from superiors, while others talked about being dismissed and talked over in meetings with no other female employees.
One male leader spoke up and said it was unacceptable, and noted that he had daughters, according to Vandermeyden
A former female manager, who was present but no longer works for the company, told The Guardian she was offended by that comment: “It’s insulting. You shouldn’t have to have daughters to know this.”
Tesla countered by saying that “executives attended because they wanted to hear directly from employees about their experiences and learn about how to improve the workplace,” in an email obtained by The Guardian.
Tesla further disputed the news outlet’s characterization of the event by saying, “Employees stood up to ask the executives questions, share their experiences at Tesla — both positive and negative — while others spoke of things that they believed Tesla was doing right and some came with suggestions. In some instances, employees were only looking for better collaboration with their HR business partners in general and had nothing to do with any allegations of harassment.”
The company statement said that when an employee referenced an area of the factory as a “predator zone,” it “surprised many in the room who had never heard of this term.”
Tesla said that immediately after the meeting, a factory-wide message to supervisors about its “strict policy against any kind of harassment” was sent, adding, “Any complaints of catcalling in the factory are thoroughly investigated and action is taken where necessary.”
According to The Guardian, Tesla also said that “there was a lot of energy around ensuring we are proactively sourcing diverse talent and ensuring that we have an interview and assessment process that is free from bias.”
Vandermeyden said she spoke at the meeting because “it was finally giving women a venue to voice what was going on. It felt like Tesla had been saying I’m making all this up. And here were all the women saying, ‘No, it’s happening.’ It’s too big to deny.”
AJ Vandermeyden sits in her Tesla outside her family’s home in San Carlos, California. (Source: Ramin Talaie for the Guardian)
Vandermeyden first got national attention when she went public with her lawsuit in February of this year, although the lawsuit was filed in September 2016.
She had been with Tesla since April of 2013, and alleged that during her time there she was subjected to behavior including “inappropriate language, whistling, and cat calls” at the hands of the mostly male staff. She further claims that she was paid less than her male colleagues despite performing work “equal in skill, effort, and responsibility.”
Vandermeyden also says that her attempts to raise concerns about the quality testing of cars and office behavior toward women were ignored by male superiors.
Tesla confirmed Vandermeyden’s firing at the time saying:
“Despite repeatedly receiving special treatment at the expense of others, Ms. Vandermeyden nonetheless chose to pursue a miscarriage of justice by suing Tesla and falsely attacking our company in the press,” a spokesperson said. “After we carefully considered the facts on multiple occasions and were absolutely convinced that Ms. Vandermeyden’s claims were illegitimate, we had no choice but to end her employment at Tesla.”
This follows cases of alleged harassment at other tech companies, with Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick recently resigning amid a reportedly turbulent office culture.
As for not working at Tesla anymore, Vandermeyden had the following to say:
“I was never your enemy,” she said. “I still believe in the importance of transitioning the world to sustainable energy, but now I don’t get to be a part of it.”
News
Tesla launches fresh U.S. promotions for the Model 3
With the end of Q1 now just weeks away, Tesla has launched two different promos on the Model 3.
Tesla has launched fresh incentives for the Model 3 sedan, coming as the automaker aims to ramp up deliveries as part of its end-of-quarter push.
With just a few weeks left in the first quarter of year, Tesla is now offering three separate incentives for all Model 3 trims in the U.S., including zero-percent APR financing, $0 due at signing, and 60-month terms. The promos were announced on social media and they’re currently also detailed on the company’s order configurator for the electric vehicle (EV).
Credit: Tesla
Tesla North America announces a new set of incentives for the reengineered Model 3 sedan.🇺🇸
✅0% APR for all Model 3 trims
✅$0 due at signing
✅60 month termsNot bad at all for one of the best bang-for-the-buck vehicles, electric or otherwise, in the market today. pic.twitter.com/3vM7Ioo2lV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 4, 2025
To qualify for the zero-percent APR deal in the U.S., buyers must put a down payment of at least 15 percent down, though Tesla also says the federal tax credit can go toward this if eligible. The $0 due at signing deal comes at a 0.99 percent APR with the use of the tax credit, and both of the deals come with 60-month terms.
At the time of writing, the $7,500 federal tax credit is also still available for all three Model 3 trims, amidst some speculation around whether or not the Trump administration could do away with the government incentive. Tesla’s website does not currently show the incentive on the order configurator in Canada, though the company is still offering a 0.99-percent APR deal on orders placed before March 7. On the Mexico order configurator, neither of these promotions are currently available.
It’s common for Tesla to push additional promos at the end of each quarter, and especially at the end of the year, to try to boost delivery numbers that will be included with quarterly data. The news also comes after Tesla began deliveries of the Model Y refresh in the U.S. earlier this week, after first deliveries of the Gigafactory Shanghai-built SUV started going out last week.
Tesla originally launched the refreshed Model 3 last January, a few months after the redesigned sedan became available in the Asia-Pacific and Europe-Middle East markets. Not unlike the recently launched Model Y, the Model 3 “Highland” came with a number of interior and exterior upgrades in two configurations, before Tesla launched the highly-anticipated Performance trim in May.
News
Tesla China wholesale figures drop in February amid new Model Y transition
Tesla China’s February 2025 wholesale figures come amidst the company’s transition to the new Model Y, an update to its strongest seller in the country.
Tesla’s sales of China-made electric vehicles dropped sharply in February, with the U.S. automaker selling 30,688 units wholesale, a 51.47% decline from January’s 63,238 and a 49.16% slide from the 60,365 vehicles that were sold wholesale in February 2024.
Tesla China’s February 2025 results were reflected in data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Tesla China’s 2025 sales:
Tesla China’s February 2025 wholesale figures come amidst the company’s transition to the new Model Y, an update to its strongest seller in the country. In the lead-up to the first deliveries of the new Model Y in late February, Tesla China likely cleared out its inventory of Model Y classic units, throttling sales of the all-electric crossover during the month.
Combined January-February 2025 sales for Tesla China currently stand at 93,926 units wholesale, as per a CNEV Post report. These represent a 28.74% decline from the 131,812 units sold wholesale in 2024’s first two months.
The new Model Y:
Tesla China introduced the new Model Y on January 10. At the time, Tesla China listed the revamped all-electric crossover’s first deliveries as sometime in March 2025. Deliveries of the new Model Y ultimately started on February 26, 2025.
The new Tesla Model Y offers a number of improvements compared to its predecessor, from an updated exterior that gives the vehicle a more aggressive look to an interior that addresses most of the complaints about the Model Y classic’s cabin. Upgrades include an updated suspension system and better sound isolation, which improve the new Model Y’s ride quality.
Previous reports:
A previous report from Bloomberg News back in January claimed that Tesla China will be pausing some of Giga Shanghai’s Model Y lines from January 22 to February 14 to optimize production equipment for the updated all-electric crossover. The publication also claimed that the facility’s Model 3 lines will be paused from January 26 to February 3 as well.
Considering that the Model Y is Tesla’s strongest seller in China, it would be interesting to see just how successful the vehicle will be in the country’s domestic market this year.
News
BYD executive VP Stella Li calls for Tesla team-up against ICE vehicles
“Our common enemy is the internal combustion engine car. We need to work together… to make the industry change,” the executive stated.
Stella Li, executive vice president of China’s leading electric vehicle maker BYD, noted that the Chinese automaker is willing to work with Tesla to battle combustion-powered cars.
The executive’s comments came as BYD and Tesla vie for supremacy in the global EV market, with both companies pushing aggressive innovation to capture consumer demand.
BYD exec’s comments:
Speaking to the Financial Times at a BYD showroom in London, Li noted that BYD would “work together” with Tesla to combat ICE vehicles. “Our common enemy is the internal combustion engine car. We need to work together… to make the industry change,” she stated.
She also stated that Beijing is “more open” to sharing innovations with foreign companies, even if there are rising trade tensions in Europe and the United States. “(The) Chinese government is more open, so maybe there is a lot of wrong perception here,” she noted.
China’s EV adoption:
Li emphasized the strength of China’s EV adoption as a model for the industry. She also expressed some confidence amidst the apparent slowdown in the global EV sector.
“Why are people still choosing the EV? Because it’s a better car, a smarter car… and it’s higher quality,” she stated.
Autonomous driving efforts:
BYD and Tesla’s efforts to make headway into the EV sector is highlighted by the two companies’ efforts to roll out a dedicated autonomous driving system to its domestic vehicles in China. Last month, BYD announced its “God’s Eye” self-driving system across most of its models in China at no additional cost.
Tesla, for its part, has pushed its first vision-based Full Self-Driving (FSD) features to the Chinese market. Early reviews of Tesla’s FSD features in China have been positive, with numerous users praising the system for its capability to traverse public roads without much issues.
Tesla launches fresh U.S. promotions for the Model 3
Tesla China wholesale figures drop in February amid new Model Y transition
BYD executive VP Stella Li calls for Tesla team-up against ICE vehicles
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