H-1B holders over Americans? Elon Musk's Tesla sued for discrimination; lawsuit alleges cost-cutting through visa hiring

Tesla, the electric vehicle company led by billionaire Elon Musk, is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing it of favouring visa holders over American workers to cut labour costs.Filed Friday in the San Francisco federal court, the complaint alleges Tesla violated federal civil rights law by disproportionately hiring H-1B visa holders while laying off US citizens. The suit claims the company’s reliance on foreign skilled workers has resulted in widespread discrimination, according to a report from Reuters.According to the filing, Tesla hired about 1,355 H-1B workers in 2024 while laying off more than 6,000 US-based employees, “the vast majority” believed to be American citizens. Plaintiffs say this imbalance reflects a pattern of bias in hiring and firings.The lawsuit was brought by software engineer Scott Taub and human resources specialist Sofia Brander, who both claim they were denied jobs because they did not require visa sponsorship. Taub said one Tesla role was advertised as “H1B only,” while Brander alleges she was twice refused interviews despite prior experience as a Tesla contractor.“While visa workers make up just a fraction of the United States labour market, Tesla prefers to hire these candidates over US citizens, as it can pay visa-dependent employees less than American employees performing the same work,” the complaint says, calling the practice a form of “wage theft.”The lawsuit also cited a December 2024 post on Musk’s social media platform X, where he wrote: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H-1B.” Musk himself is a naturalised US citizen who first came to the country on an H-1B visa.