The United Auto Workers on Tuesday filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, accusing the duo of trying to “intimate and threaten” workers during an interview on the latter’s social media platform X.
Trump returned to X on Monday night for an interview with Musk, who has voiced support for the Republican presidential candidate. The two-hour conversation between the two billionaires, which started more than half an hour late due to glitches, ranged from Trump’s views about what he called a “zombie apocalypse” of immigration to his praise for Musk’s labor practices.
During the interview, the pair advocated for the firing of striking workers, the UAW claimed in a statement. Under the National Labor Relations Act, it’s illegal to fire striking workers as well to threaten to terminate workers who go on strike.
“I mean, I look at what you do,” Trump told Musk on Monday night. “You walk in, you say, ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike. I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say, ‘That’s okay. You’re all gone. You’re all gone. So every one of you is gone.'”
Trump made the remarks in response to Musk pitching himself as playing a potential role in a future “government efficiency commission,” with the Republican nominee calling Musk “the greatest cutter.”
Musk did not directly respond to Trump’s talk about striking workers, pivoting instead to government spending.
Filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the UAW’s complaint targets Musk as a representative of Tesla, the electric car company where Musk serves as CEO and is its biggest individual shareholder.
Musk’s SpaceX has also challenged the structure of the NLRB, with the rocket maker’s lawsuit now with a federal appeals court in Texas.
The UAW, which been trying to organize Tesla employees, has also recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for the White House, while members of the union met with the Democratic presidential nominee in Michigan last week.
Shawn Fain: “Disgusting, illegal” comments
In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain decried the comments, saying “Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly.” He added, “It’s disgusting, illegal and totally predictable from these two clowns.”
The AFL-CIO, a federation of 60 national and international labor unions, offered its own take on the exchange on X, posting: “Scab recognize scab.”
The Trump campaign dismissed the UAW action as a “shameless political stunt,” with Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes accusing the union of trying to erode what he called “Trump’s overwhelming support among American workers.”
Musk, who has said he previously voted Democratic, has thrown his weight — and his wealth — behind Trump. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
