Tesla says it's been dragged into a 'turf war' between competing civil rights agencies amid claims of racial discrimination at its flagship factory

• California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing Tesla over racism claims.
• Tesla said Monday the agency is fighting a "turf war" with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Tesla says it's been dragged into a "turf war" between competing civil rights agencies amid claims of racial discrimination at its flagship factory.

In a court filing Monday, Tesla asked a judge to pause a racial discrimination lawsuit brought against it by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), saying it's already the subject of an investigation by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The DFEH sued Tesla in February, saying it had received "hundreds" of complaints from workers about racism inside Tesla's Fremont, California factory.

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In Monday's filing, first reported by Reuters and reviewed by Insider, Tesla accused the DFEH of conducting a "bare bones investigation" before rushing to file its lawsuit against the company to get ahead in a "turf war" with the EEOC. Tesla's lawyers asked the judge to postpone the DFEH's case for 120 days.

In the filing, Tesla cited the DFEH's sexual harassment suit against gaming company Activision Blizzard. Tesla said the DFEH tried to block a settlement between Activision and the EEOC because it could have harmed the DFEH's own case against the company.

A judge approved a settlement of $18 million between Activision and the EEOC in March.

The DFEH and EEOC didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment, which were sent outside usual working hours.

The DFEH's case isn't the only racial discrimination case Tesla has been fighting.

Last week, a judge upheld a racial discrimination claim of a Black former worker named Owen Diaz, who worked at Tesla's Fremont plant. Diaz was awarded $137 million in damages by a jury in October 2021 but Tesla tried to get his payout brought down to $600,000. The judge last week lowered the damages to $15 million.

In another ruling in August 2021, Tesla was ordered to pay more than $1 million to a former worker after losing a racial discrimination suit.

Insider's Grace Kay and Áine Cain reported that 46 lawsuits have been filed against Tesla over the last five years, accusing it of a sexist and racist work culture.