Elon Musk calls attacks on Tesla's working conditions 'morally outrageous' (TSLA)

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February 10, 2017 4:15 PM

A Tesla factory employee said workers are looking to form a union because of poor working conditions and preventable injuries.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is denying allegations that factory workers are subject to poor working conditions.

In fact, Musk called the allegations "morally outrageous," in a direct message with Gizmodo.

On Thursday, Jose Moran, a factory worker at Tesla's Fremont plant for the last 4 years, publicly outlined why factory workers have reached out to the United Auto Workers (UAW) to form a union.

Moran said employees are subject to frequent excessive mandatory overtime to reach production goals and are subject to preventable injuries because the machinery is not compatible with workers' bodies.

"Frankly, I find this attack to be morally outrageous. Tesla is the last car company left in California, because costs are so high. The UAW killed NUMMI and abandoned the workers at our Fremont plant in 2010. They have no leg to stand on," Musk told Gizmodo.

Musk admitted that factory workers sometimes face mandatory overtime in the message with Gizmodo.

“There is sometimes mandatory overtime if we are trying to make up for a production stoppage, but it is dropping almost every week,” he said.

Musk said "the understanding" is that Moran was paid by the UAW to agitate for the union, something that the UAW categorically denied on Friday in a statement:

"Mr. Moran is not and has not been paid by the UAW. We would hope that Tesla would apologize to their employee, Mr. Moran, for spreading fake news about him. We can confirm that Mr. Moran and others at Tesla have approached the UAW, and we welcome them with open arms," the statement reads.

Tesla confirmed in a statement to Business Insider on Thursday that Moran is a Tesla factory worker.

Tesla did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the UAW's statement. On Thursday, Tesla declined to comment to Business Insider on allegations that factory workers face excessive mandatory overtime and unsafe working conditions.

Reach out to the author at dmuoio@businessinsider.com or securely on wickr: @muoiod

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