Tesla employee Marcellous Cage says co-worker mocked him about Afghanistan blast, talks about lawsuit

A black Tesla worker claims the electric car giant’s board of directors did nothing when white employees harassed and bullied him at work, including exploiting his pain. after he was injured by a deadly explosion while working as a government contractor in Afghanistan.

According to the February lawsuit, Marcellous Cage served as a contract project manager for the Department of Defense and a quality field manager for an engineering company in Afghanistan before joining Tesla. He experienced severe explosions in Afghanistan, an active war zone at the time.

As reported by San Jose Mercury News on Friday, Cage accused his colleagues of knowing about his Afghanistan experience, and using it to mock him. While working in the company’s Nevada plant, Cage said he noticed dangerous welding conditions that could lead to shrapnel explosions. He said the situation made him uncomfortable because it reminded him of being seriously injured in an explosion in Afghanistan but as he alerted management to more than 200 instances of safety violations at the site hey, the company didn’t do anything.

Cage also alleges that a Tesla colleague’s cell phone rings, with a ringtone that sounds like a rocket attack. He said he had explained to his colleagues that sound was an emotional trigger but that it only led some white colleagues to change their ringtones to “the same disturbing sound, purely to harass Mr. Cage.”

“Even more seriously, the Construction Director sarcastically told Cage to ‘get over it’ and that hearing disturbing ringtones was good for him because he needed to ‘face his fear’. fear’,” the lawsuit states.

His lawyer told The Daily Beast that the taunt was so emotional that Cage had to leave work to reunite.

“It was definitely something that affected his ability to work,” attorney Justin Berger said. “It’s not something he can just go with the flow. He was doing an important job, and these things got in the way of his ability to do it.”

Cage also accused Tesla colleagues of taking advantage of his fear of people behind him, also due to his time in Afghanistan. In turn, he claimed that his colleagues mocked him for rearranging his office.

In addition, he also alleges that he was met with racist taunts in Tesla factories and offices, along with images of the swastika.

Cage was let go at the end of 2020 after submitting several reports of violations. He insists he was fired in retaliation.

Tesla was fired later this year for its treatment of Black employees. Former employee Kaylen Barker accused the company of ignoring her complaints of abuse “reminiscent of the Jim Crow Era” at the California factory. In January, former worker Shanel Dickson – also in California – sued the company and her supervisor for alleged racial and gender discrimination and sexual harassment. A class-action lawsuit was filed in 2017 because its Fremont location was a “hotspot for racist behaviour.”

Tesla did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on Cage’s allegations of racism and bullying on Friday.