Tesla is a U.S.-based electric vehicle and energy company headquartered in California, led by Elon Musk. While marketed as a clean energy pioneer, it profits from supply chains linked to child labor, unsafe working conditions, and environmental harm. Amnesty International has documented cobalt, used in Tesla batteries, being mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under hazardous conditions by children as young as seven.
In 2019, Tesla was named in a class-action lawsuit over child labor in cobalt mining; although dismissed in 2024, it highlighted ongoing human rights risks. The company has expanded use of cobalt-free LFP batteries in standard-range models, but long-range chemistries still contain nickel and cobalt, and transparency remains limited.
Tesla has faced repeated environmental enforcement, including a $1.5M California hazardous-waste settlement (2024), a $1M paint-shop settlement (2021), a $275k EPA penalty (2022), an air-quality violation order (2024), and a pending Clean Air Act suit. Labor disputes include NLRA violations, anti-union rulings, and racial-harassment litigation resulting in settlements and ongoing state actions.
Politically, Musk aligns with far-right figures, openly supports the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, and endorsed Donald Trump, using Tesla’s platform to promote pro-Israel narratives. These positions have fueled boycotts and campaigns such as #TeslaTakedown, with activists arguing that purchasing Tesla supports extractive labor abuses and political structures upholding apartheid and state violence.
Tesla’s global footprint combines extractive supply chains, repeat environmental violations, and workplace rights abuses. Its continued use of cobalt from high-risk sources in the DRC ties the company to documented child labor and hazardous mining practices, despite partial adoption of cobalt-free battery chemistries. Environmental penalties for hazardous-waste mismanagement, air-quality violations, and improper emissions controls show recurring operational non-compliance. Labor rulings and racial-harassment settlements further highlight systemic governance failures. Politically, Musk’s public alignment with far-right agendas and vocal support for the Israeli government during the war in Gaza position Tesla as both a corporate and symbolic actor reinforcing systems of exploitation and state violence. These converging harms place Tesla among the highest-priority boycott targets.