Tesla recently announced that it delivered 90,650 vehicles during the last quarter—exceeding analysts" expectations, despite global supply chain hits and factory closures. But the company has come under scrutiny for an aggressive re-opening strategy. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Tesla fired three workers who took leave to stay at home amid health concerns.
Today, the automobile manufacturing giant denied such reports, stating that not only are they "fundamentally untrue" but also that the names cited by these reports still continue to work at the company:
The employees quoted in recent stories are still employed with Tesla and we have offered them work multiple times. All we have asked is that our employees talk to us and provide us the details of their own concern so we can do what we can to help find a solution. Tesla has not only offered employees a window of time to stay home no questions asked, but waived our attendance policy for several weeks after we had approval to reopen our factories.
Tesla further clarified that those who had chosen to take a leave due to safety concerns for a family member were given a paid leave:
In addition, those who have at-risk family members at home received two weeks paid leave through May 31. Tesla also provides 14-day COVID sick leave pay for employees who are quarantined, self-quarantine due to family members who are sick or have tested positive.
Further guarantees were given that despite a few employees testing positive for COVID-19, Tesla"s protective measures exceed the state and federal safety guidelines. The company reiterated that it continues to put the health and safety of its employees and their family as the primary concern.