General Motors and Ford Could Go Bankrupt If They Fulfil Striking Workers' Demands: Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis would go bankrupt if they agree to increase the wages of auto workers.

The warning comes amid a United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. The union workers have been on strike in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, demanding better wages, increased pensions, and retiree health care.

The strike has entered its third week and has managed to gain a lot of attention. In fact, the UAW strikers in Wayne, Michigan, were joined by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Biden has become the first US president to join strikers on a picket line. "Stick with it. You deserve a significant raise. We saved them [the car companies]. It's about time they step up for us," he said in a speech.

He added that the workers should also be doing as "incredibly well" as the companies they work for.

However, Tesla CEO Musk does not feel the same about the situation. "They want a 40% pay raise *and* a 32-hour workweek. Sure way to drive GM, Ford, and Chrysler bankrupt in the fast lane," he said in a Twitter (now X) post.

It needs to be noted that Tesla itself faced a lawsuit for violating worker rights at its Fremont facility in California.

The National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) in the US filed a complaint against Elon Musk's Tesla in 2017.

The complaint notes Tesla asked employees to sign an overly broad non-disclosure agreement aimed at barring them from sharing (via social media or any other means) anything related to their work or working conditions at their facility.

It also details a number of instances where the company "attempted to prohibit" union activities by illegally surveilling and harassing workers.

NLRB's complaint named at least three managers or supervisors who coerced workers in their unionisation efforts. The employees were also warned against speaking about safety conditions.

The carmaker, however, has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and "entirely without merit". Some reports have claimed that United Auto Workers (UAW), which has spent years organising employees in several organisations, is making these moves to gain traction and generate headlines.

Earlier this year, a federal jury in San Francisco ordered the carmaker to pay about $3.2 million to a black former employee.

The jury found that the company had failed to prevent severe racial harassment at its flagship assembly plant in California. The company is facing similar allegations at the Fremont plant. It is currently fighting multiple cases involving individual workers.