German workers enjoy some of the most robust protections of any country in the world. Tesla, an American company with a factory near Berlin, has seen protests and other disruptions in its German operations, and it’s now facing allegations that it withheld pay from sick workers and pressured them to disclose their private medical information.
Zeit Online reported the story, noting that Tesla announced that it would withhold pay from sick workers. It found that the automaker notified employees of the change by email and said that Tesla also allegedly pressured workers to disclose their diagnoses and waive doctor-patient privacy. The company reportedly noted that the workers being asked these questions are subject to “Doubts about the submitted certificates of incapacity to work.”
The factory’s workers called in sick enough last year to prompt CEO Elon Musk to visit, and the automaker was criticized for conducting unannounced home visits to people out on sick days. However, the plant’s manager said later that the visits weren’t out of the ordinary.
If true, this news will only complicate matters for Tesla in Europe. Germans have already been vocal in their opposition to Musk’s interest in their politics, and his actions here following the presidential inauguration have only added fuel to the fire. Tesla sales in the country have tumbled as well, with more than 76 percent fewer registrations in February 2025 than there were the year before.
[Images: Tesla]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
