Tesla will have to keep fighting at least part of a federal discrimination lawsuit after a San Francisco judge declined to throw out claims that the automaker favored H-1B visa holders over qualified American applicants. The ruling splits the case in two, letting one plaintiff’s claims proceed while dismissing the other’s outright.
How the Lawsuit Started
The lawsuit was filed in September by Scott Taub and Sofia Brander, who allege Tesla violated federal civil rights law by prioritizing visa holders over U.S. citizens for open positions. Taub says he was discouraged from even applying for an engineering role after a recruiter told him it was limited to H-1B candidates. Brander claims she was passed over for two human resources positions because Tesla prefers foreign nationals for certain roles.
Central to the complaint is a striking hiring figure: Tesla brought on roughly 1,355 skilled workers under H-1B sponsorship in 2024, the same year it laid off more than 6,000 U.S. employees. Both plaintiffs argue they lost out on jobs specifically because they didn’t need visa sponsorship to work.
What the Judge Actually Ruled
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria found Taub’s version of events detailed enough to survive dismissal, meaning his discrimination claim will move into the next phase of litigation. That said, the judge wasn’t fully convinced by the strength of the evidence. The email exchange between Taub and a Tesla recruiter, the judge noted, was brief, and the recruiter’s comment that the role was restricted to H-1B applicants may have simply been answering a direct question rather than revealing a company-wide policy.
Brander didn’t fare as well. The court dismissed her claims, ruling it wasn’t plausible from the complaint that her citizenship status was the reason she wasn’t selected for the HR openings. Part of the judge’s reasoning leaned on the lawsuit’s own allegations, which describe Tesla’s H-1B hiring as concentrated in specialized engineering, research, and design roles, not the HR department Brander applied to.
What Happens Next
Brander has a 14-day window to file an amended complaint if she wants to keep her portion of the case alive. Meanwhile, Taub’s claim heads toward discovery, where both sides will have to produce more concrete evidence about how Tesla’s hiring decisions were actually made. Cases like this one add to the broader scrutiny automakers and tech companies face over H-1B hiring practices, particularly when layoffs and visa sponsorship happen in the same hiring cycle.