Elon Musk challenges UAW union to hold vote at California Tesla plant

The announcement comes three months after the billionaire Musk criticized the Biden administration and Democrats for a proposal to give union-made, US-built electric vehicles an additional $4,500 tax incentive.

Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions at their US factories.

In his tweet on Thursday, Musk said the real challenge was the negative unemployment in Bay Area, where the factory is located, and not compensating people well would make them leave as they have many offers.

Joe Biden has often praised the electric-vehicle (EV) efforts made by General Motors and Ford, even though they sell fewer EVs than Tesla.

Musk has also faced the ire of the National Labor Relations Board, which last year ruled the company violated US labor law and ordered Tesla to direct him to delete a 2018 tweet saying employees would lose their stock options if they formed a union.

Tesla subsequently appealed the NLRB ruling with the New Orleans-based US court of appeals and that case is still pending.

The NLRB also directed Tesla to offer one former employee reinstatement as well as to rescind 2017 rules that prohibited distributing union literature in its parking lot on non-work time and rules that barred distributing union stickers, leaflets and pamphlets without first obtaining permission.

Last November, 10 environmental and advocacy groups, including the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the League of Conservation Voters, called on EV startup Rivian to work with labor groups to ensure a clean future and high-paying jobs, and to allow a union voting process in its plants.

The complaint says Black workers were subjected to racist slurs and graffiti and were assigned the most physically demanding jobs.