Tesla EV Shipments In Jeopardy Across Nordics As Union Woes Spread 

Tesla’s Scandinavian labor disputes may intensify, as Denmark’s most prominent union announced its workers will stop offloading and transporting Tesla vehicles to Sweden. This comes amid Tesla’s ongoing labor disputes in Sweden. Elon Musk has labeled the industrial actions threatening to disrupt operations in Europe as “insane.” 

According to Bloomberg, the Danish union 3F plans to direct dockworkers and truck drivers to stop offloading and transporting Tesla cars to Sweden in about two weeks. This action will prevent Tesla from bypassing a blockade by Swedish dockworkers who’ve already blocked sea shipments. 

Tesla has been in a labor dispute with Swedish unions for over a month. It has refused to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the union IF Metall. 

Swedish cleaners, dockworkers, and postal workers have stood behind striking Tesla mechanics. The dispute revolves around 130 mechanics at body shops across the country. 

Musk, a staunch critic of unionization, told the crowd at a New York Times event last week:

“I disagree with the idea of unions.

“I just don’t like anything which creates a lords and peasants kind of thing.”

Elon Musk disagrees with the idea of unions because they “create a lords and peasants sort of thing” and definitely has nothing to do with the fact he’s acquired obscene wealth by exploiting the labor of his workers.

Unionize Tesla.
Unionize X.
Unionize SpaceX. pic.twitter.com/P5kHqNgRN4

— We Are Somebody (@StrikeForAll) December 1, 2023

Tesla has fired back at the unions, filing two lawsuits in Sweden after labor actions impacted the delivery of license plates to new vehicles. 

Given the high number of unionized workers, mounting labor actions against Tesla in the Scandinavian region should come as no surprise. 

Tesla’s fifth-largest European market is Sweden. Should all transport unions join the blockade, then the company would have to ship EVs to Germany.

The most significant risk to Tesla is that unions in other EU countries join in solidarity with their Swedish counterparts. 

Is the EU weaponizing unions against Tesla for Musk’s ‘free speech’ stance on social media platform X?