White employees at Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada made ‘gorilla noises’ at Black colleagues, lawsuit says

A Black employee at a Tesla plant in Nevada is suing the electric carmaker over what he describes as “ongoing severe, pervasive, race-based discrimination and harassment,” including persistent use of the “N-word” by white coworkers and supervisors, a manager who compared people of color to livestock and staffers who made gorilla noises at their African-American colleagues while higher-ups allegedly looked the other way.

In a federal complaint obtained by The Independent, Kamern Cowan says the constant racist abuse forced him to alter the route he walked through the 5.4 million square-foot building to his workstation, which often made him late for the start of his shift, resulting in disciplinary actions for tardiness – despite his repeated explanations and documented reports to HR.

As a result, Cowan’s two-plus years at Tesla’s massive Gigafactory near Reno not only left him humiliated and emotionally distressed, but passed over for otherwise deserved promotions and pay raises, as well, according to his complaint.

Attorney Sara Faulman, who is representing Cowan, told The Independent, “It is unfortunate, but all too common, that workers like Mr. Cowan are required to endure unlawful harassment just to earn a living, and we are confident that Mr. Cowan will be able to find some measure of justice here.”

A spokesperson for Tesla, which has previously been accused of rampant bigotry and racism throughout various U.S. facilities, did not respond to a request for comment.

Cowan began working for Tesla in December 2023, when he hired on as a cooling tubes production specialist, his complaint states. From the beginning, it contends, Cowan experienced intense hostility “due to his race.”

The complaint notes that federal and state law prohibit discrimination on the basis of race. However, what Cowan endured was “at best[,] willfully ignored or unaddressed by his employer,” according to the complaint, which was filed March 13 in Nevada federal court.

In one example included in the complaint, Cowan’s coworkers referred to his workstation as the “slave house,” and said, “Welcome to the slave house,” when he showed up in the mornings – which mirrors allegations by a Black employee at Tesla’s Fremont, California plant. Cowan reported the comments to his supervisors, but instead of addressing the issue, they reassigned him to another location within the factory, the complaint continues.

There, it says, Cowan “continued to experience racist harassment and abuse and a racially hostile work environment.” For starters, according to the complaint, Cowan “witnessed both coworkers and supervisors regularly use the ‘N-word’ and other racial slurs in the presence of himself and other African-American employees.”

“He also on multiple occasions witnessed white coworkers making gorilla noises at African-American coworkers with supervisors nearby, who did nothing,” the complaint goes on.

About nine months into the job, while Cowan was working alongside a Black colleague, a white employee allegedly walked up and asked, “Where is everyone? Why is [sic] there only colored people here?” A short time later, while Cowan was eating lunch with a group of Black and Indian-American coworkers, the complaint claims a supervisor “loudly commented to a group of white employees that he would need to ‘whip’ the group back into their ‘corrals,’ equating these non-white employees to livestock.”

“This same supervisor regularly used the N-word in the presence of African-American employees,” the complaint states.

Cowan reported the incidents to HR, explaining that the livestock comment had brought him to a “breaking point,” according to the complaint. It says the HR representative told Cowan that they would look into it, then closed the case within a week without further explanation.

Without any action taken, the ugly behavior continued, the complaint maintains.

“In April 2025, for example, a coworker became startled when… Cowan walked up behind him, and another coworker said, in a derogatory way, ‘You shouldn’t be scared of Kam just because he’s Black,’” according to the complaint. “The coworker was clearly startled because he had not expected someone to walk up behind him, not because… Cowan was African-American… Cowan also reported this incident to HR along with two written statements from other coworkers who witnessed this incident, again to no avail.”

Two days later, the same coworker who made the offensive comment informed a group of other employees that he was going to “confront” Cowan and tell him racist jokes, the complaint says. Because those other colleagues warned Cowan of the plan, he avoided the confrontation, according to the complaint. But when Cowan went back to HR to make a report, it alleges the situation once again went unaddressed.

“Because of the severity and pervasiveness of this harassment, discrimination, and hostile work environment, and [Tesla’s] failure to do anything to stop it… Cowan was forced to go to great lengths to attempt to navigate the harassment he faced,” the complaint states. “For example, he planned out his walk through the Gigafactory to his workstation so that he could avoid individuals who harassed him or who he had heard use slurs or other racist language, or altered his route midwalk to avoid them.”

This, according to the complaint, meant Cowan sometimes arrived at his workstation past his scheduled start time, even though he had gotten to the Gigafactory well in advance. It says the tardiness reflected poorly in Cowan’s performance reviews, and he was issued written disciplinary notices that impacted his ability to move up the ranks at Tesla.

It all took a tremendous toll on Cowan, who had to take unpaid leave to “seek respite and to recover,” the complaint states.

“The harassment, discrimination and work environment to which… Cowan has been subjected has caused him emotional distress,” according to the complaint. “It has made him feel unsafe and dehumanized. It has disrupted his ability to focus on, perform, and take pride in his work.”

Tesla, the complaint alleges, “improperly denied equal terms, conditions and privileges of employment to African-American employees like [Cowan] and violated [Cowan’s] civil rights to be free from harassment.”

Cowan is now seeking monetary damages to be determined at trial, including back pay, front pay, general and specific damages for lost compensation and benefits, emotional distress damages, and punitive and exemplary damages, plus interest, as well as attorneys’ fees and court costs.