Germany’s largest trade union to take Tesla to court

IG Metall, Germany’s largest trade union, claims Elon Musk’s company threatened that employees would lose their jobs if they supported the union in a works council election.

IG Metall will bring Tesla to court

IG Metall, the trade union representing 2,27 million metal workers in Germany, has filed a case at the labour court in Frankfurt (Oder) claiming the outcome of a recent works council election at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide, Brandenburg, is invalid.

In Germany, employees of private companies can establish works councils and elect fellow employees to represent them. These representatives negotiate with management to improve working conditions, including working hours, wages, and staffing levels. These employee representatives may also be members of a union, such as IG Metall.

IG Metall claims that Tesla management threatened staff would lose their jobs if they voted for union representatives in works council elections in early March. 10.700 employees voted in the election, an 87 percent turnout, down 6 percent compared to the 2024 works council election.

IG Metall’s share of the vote fell from 39,4 percent to 31,1 percent, while the Tesla management-aligned “Giga United” took 40,4 percent. 8,3 percent of the vote went to a Polish workers’ initiative, and the remaining votes were split between eight other candidates. IG Metall needed 19 of the 37 works council seats to maintain a majority, but secured only 16.

Did Tesla manipulate the election outcome?

IG Metall has long maintained that Tesla employees in Brandenburg work in poor conditions. In the lead-up to the election, Tesla launched a campaign against the union.

In December, Elon Musk’s company held a “Giga-Event” to “boost morale” and rail against the union. The event involved German rapper Kool Savas driving onto the stage in a Cybertruck and attempted an “Elon, Elon” chant which few employees joined.

In a video seen by Handelsblatt, five minutes into his performance Savas admits he facing a tough crowd, saying, “You guys are tough, man. You guys are really tough. Tesla, what’s wrong with you?. Badges with the slogan “Giga JA – Gewerkschaft NEIN” (Giga YES – Union NO)" were distributed.

In mid February, Tesla called the police, claiming that an IG Metall representative had illegally recorded a works council meeting. Police took the representative’s laptop. The representative has since filed a defamation claim against the Grünheide plant manager, André Thierig, and accused the company of a “brazen and calculated lie”. 

Then, in late February, Elon Musk sent a personal message to the plant’s 10.700 employees telling them that “things will certainly get more difficult if there are external organisations pushing Tesla in the wrong direction” and that the plant may not expand. According to Handelsblatt, the plant has cut 1.700 jobs in the past year.

Speaking of IG Metall’s decision to file the court case, head Christiane Brenner said, "The impression that the election at Tesla was influenced by threats is too serious not to be clarified in court. Democratic principles must apply to these important democratic elections in this country."

If the Frankfurt (Oder) court rules in IG Metall’s favour, there will have to be a new works council election.

What’s it like working in the Brandenburg Tesla factory?

Since the plant opened in 2022, IG Metall has reported that the factory is too cold in winter and too hot in summer for employees to work comfortably. 

In 2023, IG Metall representative Irene Schulz said the factory was understaffed, employees worked regular weekend overtime and were afraid to discuss their contracts with the union. According to Schulz, the security officer was employed to uncover cases where workers had broken secrecy agreements.

In 2024, Tesla bosses are said to have checked on 24 employees at home while they were on paid sick leave. In 2025, the company sent letters to employees on sick leave, demanding that they share sensitive personal health information to “prove” they are genuinely sick. 

German magazine Stern has also reported on several worrying accidents at the factory, including a fire caused by a battery, which resulted in contaminated water leaking into the soil and an illegal petrol station, which “uncontrollably” leaked 250 litres of diesel.

In July 2024, residents in Grünheide voted against Tesla’s plans to expand the Gigafactory, largely citing concerns that the factory - which uses enough water to fill 700 Olympic-sized swimming pools every year - will worsen an existing regional water shortage, and fine soil means drinking water will be contaminated.

Despite the local vote, which had a 76 percent turnout, Brandenburg authorities said the expansion could go ahead.