Tesla, the U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer, has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency and the postal service, following a postal workers' strike that has disrupted the delivery of license plates for Tesla cars in Sweden. The strike is part of a broader conflict between Tesla and Sweden's labor unions, which has seen mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden go on strike, with hundreds of workers from other industries joining in support.
The workers are demanding that Tesla, which is non-unionized, sign a collective bargaining agreement. Tesla, however, has a policy against signing such agreements, arguing that its employees already have equal or better terms than what the union proposed. The company has described the actions of the Swedish Transport Agency as a 'unique attack' on the U.S. company.
In the lawsuit, Tesla claims that the Swedish government has a constitutional obligation to provide registration plates to vehicle owners. The suit, filed with the Norrkoping district court in November, argues that not accessing the registration plates constitutes an unlawful discriminatory attack directed at the company. Tesla is demanding that the district court fine the agency 1 million kronor ($95,383) to oblige the Swedish Transport Agency to allow Tesla to retrieve license plates within three days from notification of the district court's decision.
The Swedish Transport Agency, however, has refused to deliver the plates by other means, stating it was contractually bound to use PostNord, the state-run postal service. A Swedish court has since ruled in favor of Tesla, stating that the country's transport authority must find a way to deliver license plates to the company.