Kayla Atkins has filed a lawsuit against Tesla, Inc., alleging gender and religious discrimination, as well as retaliation. The complaint was filed on February 6, 2025, in the District Court of Harris County, Texas. Atkins claims that her termination from Tesla was due to discriminatory practices based on her gender, religion, race, and national origin.
The lawsuit details a series of events that began when Kayla Atkins started working for Tesla on December 18, 2023. During her interview process, she disclosed her Jewish background and education in Jerusalem. Her manager at the time, Nadine Badreddine, who is Lebanese Arab, allegedly opposed hiring her due to this disclosure. It was only after intervention by regional manager Rob Overton that Atkins secured the position. Throughout her employment at Tesla, Atkins experienced what she describes as a hostile work environment where male employees were favored over female employees. She cites examples such as male employees being given more flexibility with work schedules and access to resources necessary for job performance.
Atkins further alleges that after raising concerns about discriminatory treatment with HR representative Amanda Highwood and Rob Overton on January 29, 2024, she faced retaliation from her managers. This included unwarranted criticism of her work performance and being placed on administrative leave during an investigation into her complaints. Although the investigation concluded on March 18, 2024, with no corrective action taken by Tesla according to Atkins's claims, she was laid off under the guise of company-wide layoffs announced in April.
In her lawsuit, Atkins accuses Tesla of violating several provisions of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA), including gender discrimination (Count One), religious discrimination (Count Two), race discrimination (Count Three), national origin discrimination (Count Four), and retaliation (Count Five). She seeks damages for back pay and front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress and other non-economic losses, punitive damages against Tesla for their alleged wrongful conduct, as well as attorneys' fees and costs incurred during litigation.
Representing Kayla Atkins are attorneys Hessam Parzivand and Travis Bryan from The Parzivand Law Firm PLLC based in Sugar Land, Texas. The case is presided over by Judge Wanda Chambers in the 189th Judicial District Court under Case ID: 2025-08239.