Tesla steals Activision playbook in fighting race-bias suit

A sign is posted in front of a Tesla office on April 20, 2022 in Fremont, California. Legal scholars say the apparent turmoil between the DFEH and the EEOC over the prosecution of high-profile cases may give companies like Tesla a litigation strategy for avoiding potentially high-dollar state law claims by fighting California regulators and looking for a deal with the federal government. — AFP

A turf war between US federal and California workplace civil rights agencies, who ran dueling discrimination probes into Activision Blizzard Inc and Tesla Inc, is giving companies a playbook for creating regulatory chaos and fighting back against agency actions.

Legal observers say Tesla, which disclosed it was the subject of parallel investigations over racial discrimination by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, is already taking a page from the tactics of Activision, which pushed back on the state agency before finalising a sexual harassment settlement with the EEOC over the objections of California.