2017, and 2018 when some workers tried to unionize at Tesla's Fremont, California, vehicle company electrician Elon Musk paid consulting firm MWW PR to monitor employees on Facebook groups and more generally on social media, according to the bill and other documents reviewed by news.
ACCORDING TO DOCUMENTS DESCRIBING HIS WORK, PR MWW followed two things discussions about allegations of unfair labor practices at Tesla and cases of sexual harassment.
While records confirming Tesla's online surveillance of employees have been around for years, they have new relevance for observers seeking a better understanding of CEO Elon Musk's social media priorities.
Musk recently signed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, the social network he's relied on for years to promote his business and suspected adversaries, including short sellers, whistleblowers, UAW, journalists, and Democratic officials, to mock or criticize. He is expected to become Twitter's interim CEO once the deal is complete.
Records show that Tesla paid MWW PR to monitor Facebook groups of Tesla employees to expand Facebook monitoring to include comments on organizing efforts and conduct specific research on organizers while developing work communications plans, media lists, and presentations based on the information they set.
Tesla's Director of Global Communications at the time, Dave Arnold, had ties to the PR and consulting firm the automaker hired to do the job. He served as vice president at MWW for approximately four years from 2011 to 2015 after serving as director of communications for former agent Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), according to a press release from MWW announcing his recruitment.
Tesla and Elon Musk have been at odds with union supporters for years. In 2017, Tesla fired a union activist named Richard Ortiz, and in 2018 Musk tweeted comments allegedly violating federal labor laws. The National Labor Council has ordered Tesla to reinstate Ortiz and forced Musk to delete his tweets, threatening workers' compensation. Tesla has appealed the administrative court decision, and its tweet remains in effect.
