A Tesla employee has failed a lawsuit against the electric automaker claiming that he was subjected to harassment and racial discrimination.

While working at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, DeWitt Lambert says racial slurs were thrown towards him. According to the California Civil Rights Law Group which filed the lawsuit, “They would call him the N-word throughout his workday, talk about the size of his penis and even placed a drill gun into his buttocks.”

In a statement, Lambert said that while working at Tesla, he “experienced discrimination worse than anything I experienced growing up in Alabama” and that he is scared for his safety when leaving the plant in the evening.

According to the electric automaker, there was no objective evidence that Lambert was the subject of inappropriate behaviour but it did say there were some actions contrary to company values.

“A video recently came to light showing behavior by a group of employees at our factory acting in a way that we found disappointing and contrary to our values,” a Tesla spokesman said.

“We will continue to take action as necessary, including parting ways with anyone whose behavior prevents Tesla from being a great place to work. However, it’s also clear that Dewitt’s version of events is not supported by the facts,” Tesla concluded.

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