Tesla Ordered To Pay $3.2M In Racial Bias Lawsuit: Elon Musk Says, 'Verdict Would've Been Zero' With New Evidence

A jury in San Francisco, California, ordered Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) to pay a former worker $3.2 million in a racial bias lawsuit that he won.

What Happened: The amount is far less than the $15 million that Owen Diaz, the plaintiff, rejected last year instead of opting for a fresh trial, reported Reuters.

The former elevator operator was awarded $175,000 in emotional distress and $3 million in punitive damages, according to the report.

The verdict was handed after a trial that lasted a week. In 2021, Diaz was awarded $137 million by a different jury. The judge at the time deemed the award excessive and ordered a new trial after Diaz rejected the reduced award of $15 million.

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Why It Matters: On Monday, Elon Musk reacted to the verdict. He said on Twitter that if Tesla had been “allowed to introduce new evidence, the verdict would’ve been zero.”

“Jury did the best they could with the information they had. I respect the decision.”

If we had been allowed to introduce new evidence, the verdict would’ve been zero imo.

Jury did the best they could with the information they had. I respect the decision.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023

Diaz’s lawyer Bernard Alexander had urged jurors during closing statements on Friday to award the plaintiff almost $160 million in damages, reported Reuters. 

Alex Spiro, the lawyer for Tesla, said that Diaz was a confrontational worker and that he had exaggerated his claims of emotional distress.

It was reported earlier that employment discrimination cases typically don’t yield verdicts of more than $1 million.

Price Action: On Monday, Tesla shares closed 6.1% lower, at $194.77, in the regular session and fell 0.8% in the after-hours trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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