“Tesla has initiated legal proceedings against the Swedish Transport Agency following a work stoppage by striking employees in the Scandinavian country, disrupting the delivery of license plates for new vehicles produced by the Texas-based automaker. The lawsuit was reported by Sweden’s Dagens Industri on Monday. Mikael Andersson, a spokesperson for the agency, stated to local broadcaster SVT that the lawsuit was filed early in the morning, and as of then, they had not yet reviewed the details.
Andersson mentioned, ‘We need to hear their reasoning first before we can provide any further comment.’ According to Dagens Industri, Tesla, which is globally non-unionized, is suing the government agency, asserting that the inability to access registration plates ‘constitutes an unlawful discriminatory attack directed at Tesla.’
On October 27, a total of 130 members from the influential metalworkers’ union IF Metall initiated a strike at seven workshops nationwide, where Tesla’s popular electric cars are serviced. The primary demand of the striking workers was for Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement, a common practice among most employees in Sweden. While Tesla does not have a manufacturing plant in Sweden, it does operate several service centers.
The strike led to a halt in Swedish mechanics servicing Tesla cars, and in a show of solidarity, the postal workers’ union, along with dockworkers at the country’s four largest ports, joined the cause. This collective effort aimed to increase pressure on Tesla to meet the demands of the metalworkers’ union.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, expressed his frustration on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), describing it as “insane” that Swedish postal workers were refusing to deliver license plates for new vehicles.
IF Metall stated that Tesla Sweden had “refused to sign a collective agreement and violates basic principles in the Swedish labor market,” emphasizing the significance of such agreements as the “backbone of the Swedish model.” The union appealed to consumers for understanding, explaining that their actions were to ensure safe working conditions for their members.
In response, Dagens Industri reported that Tesla has taken legal action, demanding that the district court ensure the Swedish Transport Agency delivers the necessary license plates for its vehicles.