Electric carmaker Tesla is being labeled a “predator zone” for its treatment of female employees, according to accounts of a company town hall meeting revealed Wednesday.
The March town hall meeting revealed stunning accounts of routine sexual harassment at the company, the Guardian newspaper first reported. The meeting took place at the clean-car company’s Fremont, Calif., headquarters, but CEO Elon Musk did not attend.
One employee described Tesla as a “predator zone” for male employees to mistreat and sexually harass their female counterparts.
Other women discussed how they felt unsafe around their male managers. A former female manager at the meeting said she was insulted by some of the male executives at the meeting who responded to the female employees’ concerns with generic statements full of company jargon.
One male manager said the behavior was unacceptable, noting that he had daughters. But the former female manager thought “it’s insulting” because “you shouldn’t have to have daughters to know this.”
A statement from Tesla said the company has a zero tolerance policy about such behavior, and the claims were addressed immediately after the meeting “with those willing to discuss.”
But the story appeared to be only the beginning of dark clouds forming for the electric carmaker.
Tesla also took a hit from investors Wednesday amid fears that sales of its more expensive, luxury car models will suffer as it focuses on the more affordable Model 3.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the electric carmaker’s stock fell by 7 percent Wednesday on fears of revenue losses because of the shift in production.
Meanwhile, Volvo announced Wednesday that it would be converting its auto business from selling conventional diesel and gasoline vehicles to selling only electric-powered cars beginning in 2019.
Some industry experts said Volvo’s switch will offer a new source of competition for Tesla, with Brian Johnson, an auto analyst with banking giant Barclays, saying the shift doesn’t bode well for Musk’s company.
Johnson wrote in a brief that it marks a trend of “intense competition” by the next decade.
