A California state agency sued automaker Tesla over some allegations raised by Black workers. The workers alleged that the company tolerated racial discrimination at an assembly plant. This, adds to the several lawsuits against the company. 

"Workers referred to the Tesla factory as the 'slaveship' or 'the plantation,' where defendants’ production leads 'crack[ed] the whip,'" the agency said in the complaint.

According to a Reuters report,  the lawsuit filed in state court late on Wednesday by the state's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) said Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, is racially segregated and that Black workers claim they are subjected to racist slurs and drawings and assigned the most physically demanding jobs.

Reacting to the incident, the company said in a blog post, “A narrative spun by the DFEH and a handful of plaintiff firms to generate publicity is not factual proof.” 

It further stated that over the last five years, DFEH had concluded that nearly 50 individual discrimination complaints against the company lacked merit, contradicting the agency's claims of widespread discrimination. The company said it does not tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired workers who engaged in misconduct.