Introduction
Tesla, just like any other business, has moral standards created by the enterprise and specific personnel inside the company. These guidelines consider the ideas, norms, laws, and business regulations that govern how individuals act within the institution and how the firm operates in the community. Tesla’s motor addresses various corporate procedures and norms concerning the code of business behavior and ethics. Although it does not protect every matter that can arise, it sets the fundamental guidelines for all Tesla Motors employees, executives, and officials (Tóth et al., 2022).
All members of staff, administrators, and officers are required to act responsibly while seeking to minimize the appearance of inappropriate behavior. The code should always be communicated and adhered to. Those who disrupt the ethics code are subject to corrective action, which might consist of termination. According to Tesla’s code of conduct, both individuals and organizations must adhere to the law as it serves as the foundation for all ethical decisions made by the company (Tóth et al., 2022). However, it did not observe the code that states that all employees were permitted to voice their concerns over company choices and practices if they put them in danger.
When the county government imposed shelter-in-place orders to stop the spread of COVID-19, Tesla’s plant, which manufactures electric vehicles like Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y, was shut down. The Tesla factory in Fremont employs over 10,000 people, and the firm has over 20,000 employees (Battini et al., 2017). There were concerns that the plant would serve as a potential super spreader site due to its sizable labor force from numerous nearby towns. Conversely, the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, tried to get Californian Alameda County’s stay-at-home orders waived for the Tesla Fremont facility. During an April earnings report, he was overheard calling the public health directives ‘fascist’ (Lankov, 2020).
Tesla’s Adherence to the Code of Ethics During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tesla engaged in specific instances of threatening and retaliating against employees, constituting violations of the National Labor Relations Act. For measures that arose in 2017, the legal case was perceived in California. Additionally, the tweet Musk sent in May 2018 was listed as another instance of legal misconduct in the complaint (Sprunger, 2022). He implied in this tweet that reneging on Tesla stock options implied forming a union, which the court deemed to be unlawful as well. The tweet effectively “threatened employees” with stock option forfeiture if they supported the union. By forbidding staff from donning pro-union shirts, Tesla Inc. also broke the National Labor Relations Board law, contradicting a precedent from the Trump administration that adopted a more restrictive stance.
Musk urged staff in May 2020 to stay home if they got anxious about returning to work (Lankov, 2020). The company reversed the decision and declared that employees who failed to report to work would be fired in June. Then Tesla fired a worker who had condemned the corporation for failing to take the necessary protection actions to guard workers at the Fremont Factory from coronavirus. Three further Tesla workers asserted that their termination resulted from their choice to stay at home out of concern for COVID-19. The business reopened its Fremont, California mega plant and began production even after Alameda County health regulators had told it to shut down. In the end, following the facility’s reopening, the number of COVID-19 cases rose from 10 in May 2020 to 125 in December 2020 (Minchin, 2021).
Tesla’s CEO frequently underestimated the danger of COVID-19 outbreak, although the firm’s code of ethics declared that it valued the health and safety of its workers. He called the public’s comeback to the pandemic “stupid,” and he forecasted that by April, there would be no instances reported. To that degree, the business released a thorough plan to get workers to work and keep them safe from the illness, although some workers continued to raise worries about their health. They claimed that Tesla was breaking social distance norms and failed to enforce masks and equipment cleanliness regulations.
They also criticized the corporation for not being transparent enough about fresh incidents of infection and its response. The workers noticed that many of their co-workers were now coughing, sneezing, and panting. Since the Fremont factory reopened, the Alameda County Public Health Department refused to share anonymized data that would show if an outbreak occurred there (Andrews et al., 2022). The firm’s failure to provide adequate information about the pandemic led to employee health and safety concerns.
Musk’s Ethical Business Leadership Practices
The business wants to offer its clients the most cutting-edge and contemporary products. In order to help the company establish a competitive system for its rivals and improve performance, the CEO uses transformational leadership styles that emphasize employee skill innovation and growth. The aggressive reaction of Tesla’s CEO towards successful innovation is perhaps best exemplified by the innovative items the Tesla company has created. Offering ideas to workers and inspiring them are vital components of Musk’s transformative leadership style. This increases employees’ brand loyalty and business loyalty. Since it needs them to become more ambitious and innovative, the management seeks to incorporate creativity. Employees are told to prioritize the company’s aims for various awards and incentives. Tesla employs both the traits of transactional and transformational leadership.
Moral leaders behave kindly and in manners that are advantageous to the group. His compassion may be evident in his support of his brother’s charitable foundation, the development of young football players, and other initiatives that aim to improve people’s lives in the future. From 2001 through 2017, a period of fifteen years, the Musk Foundation gave over $54 million in direct donations to 160 organizations. His gifts benefit charities that support health care, the environment, space activism, and education (Harris, 2019). Musk contributed approximately $150 million to charity work within January to April 2021; his compassion improves the lives of others (Akpan, 2022).
By taking the initiative, Musk not only talks about the problem but also walks for action. His high hopes for his staff and his high standards serve as his primary motivational source for his staff. Before anticipating the personnel to make similar commitments, Musk makes more significant commitments to the company’s success. His ongoing dedication has a good effect on the development of the businesses since it provides an example of the correct route for the staff. Consequently, they put in much effort, followed the principles, and behaved consistently. For instance, Tesla and the corporation’s management had sued Alameda County to challenge the legality of the county’s COVID-19 restrictions but dropped it after authorization for the Fremont Factory to resume.
By taking the initiative, Musk not only talks about the problem but also walks for action. His high hopes for his staff and his high standards serve as his primary motivational source for his staff. Before anticipating the personnel to make similar commitments, Musk makes more significant commitments to the company’s success. His ongoing dedication has a good effect on the development of the businesses since it provides an example of the correct route for the staff. Consequently, they put in much effort, followed the principles, and behaved consistently. For instance, Tesla and the corporation’s management had sued Alameda County to challenge the legality of the county’s COVID-19 restrictions but dropped it after authorization for the Fremont Factory to resume.
Musk is the ideal candidate for having a clear sense of his position and goals. His most ambitious plan is to build a greenhouse in large numbers and then commit suicide there. Second, he wants to improve the human condition in the world. He has some ongoing projects intended to help him realize these two ideals. He initially made investments in online banking, but currently, he is making more significant investments to advance renewable power, self-driving cars, and aerospace engineering (Akpan, 2022). Musk has spent more than ten years attempting to address the issue of global warming. His ability to see the big picture has enabled him to achieve great things, including ranking among the top investors globally.
Musk does not exploit his staff to boost his ego and seem nice in front of the public. On the other side, he works relentlessly to elevate their staff members and inspire them to succeed. Musk supports the growth of his staff members by offering rewards for creative thoughts and ideas. He motivates his staff members to encourage cooperation, communication, and operations.
Musk radiates moral company practices despite his unethical leadership skills during COVID-19. Through Musk, Tesla has made significant advancement and has decisively confirmed itself as a pioneer in EVs despite the significant hardships the company has encountered. In 2019, the firm sold unparalleled vehicles and produced $24.6 billion in income (Huang et al., 2022). As it proceeds into the future, Tesla will need to concentrate on China and Europe.
Tesla has created the bar for what an Electric vehicle must be and has impelled significant auto manufacturers to ramp up their EV engineering as a consequence of emerging the first economically viable EV. Musk’s choice to make low-end vehicles a secondary focus of Tesla’s business operations proved crucial to the corporation’s economic success and its mission to hasten the global switch to renewable power.
Musk has ensured that his employees and management like their work, which has helped create a dynamic workplace. Due to a joyful and welcoming work environment, the employees of the companies put their all into their work. Since creativity is a foundation that guarantees vitality and enjoyment in the workplace, Tesla applies the innovation system there, encouraging inventive solutions and ideas.
Nowadays, Tesla is known in the United States and all over the world, despite initial leadership complications that did not hinder the company’s development. Its global centralization has enabled the organization to expand internationally while managing all of its operations from a single headquarters. It has a global organization or controls operating offices that manage its worldwide activities. It has several divisions, including software and marketing, finance and law, media and HR, manufacturing and engineering, and energy, all run by vice presidents.
Musk Leadership and Decision-making
The choice made by Musk lacked justice in both the process and the result. Procedure-wise, Musk’s choice was incorrect because it violated Alameda County’s statutes, where its assembly facilities are situated. Tesla’s refusal to comply with the lockdown can be judged based on whether the action violated any fundamental human rights, which appears to be true in this instance. Musk was incorrect in his leadership and decision-making skills at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When seen from the perspective of the results, the CEO’s choice was similarly unfair to the employees who were in danger of catching COVID-19.
Tesla’s workers were forced to operate in a dangerous atmosphere where they may quickly develop COVID-19, putting them in danger due to the company’s violation of the lockdown. Even if the decision was made to help, Tesla’s activities continued as usual for the advantage of its owners.
When unforeseen situations emerge, a business can quickly change if it lacks empathy and adaptability in the workplace. These essential leadership principles can lead to adjustments that create vital plans to overcome unexpected challenges. Contrarily, the CEO of Tesla summoned to the company’s employees and management sparked a commotion among the workforce (Battini et al., 2017). Many believed this went against moral leadership principles and effective management techniques. Musk exhibits unethical leadership behavior due to his lack ability to perceive others’ The core elements of high quality of life values, choices, adaptability, and control appear to be undermined.
The organization’s performance and production are not at their peak. As a result of the staff members’ lack of motivation, this has occurred (Khaltar & Moon, 2020). Because there are no plans to consider the employees’ interests, the organization’s workforce is not sufficiently motivated. It is believed that Tesla views its personnel as humans rather than as assets whose interests do not need to be considered. Due to their exposure to hazardous conditions like Covid-19, the employees’ environment was unsuitable for them, as evidenced by the visible injuries. Tesla’s workers were forced to work in a dangerous atmosphere where they could rapidly contract COVID-19, putting them at risk due to the company’s violation of the lockdown law. This was due to Musk’s lack of concern for his employees and sole focus on the future of his business.
The organization’s administration did not care about people’s health. Considering this, each employee’s performance and production were substantially impacted because they could not perform at their best in a dangerous setting or when they become ill or injured. As a result, the organization became less productive, impacting its overall performance. To increase productivity, the company needed to take steps to improve organizational safety. This would guarantee every person is productive over the year and operating at their best capacity. Bonus programs and other motivational techniques should be used to encourage employees to put in an additional effort at work.
In order to successfully navigate competitive marketplaces and complex surroundings, businesses need bold leadership. However, anything in excess may be harmful, and boldness that is not adequately restrained is simply irresponsible. Bold leaders come closer to being lousy leaders each time they cross essential lines of demarcation. The ability of the employees to reject orders that conflict with their personal beliefs is protected by both people’s freedom and the law. Musk overstepping his bounds of modesty led to poor leadership; as a result, his business and stockholders paid the price. Musk’s actions were unlawful and should be denounced by the relevant authorities since he acted too boldly.
Musk, the Tesla CEO, disregarded orders from a county and five other nearby local municipalities to remain indoors and close businesses that were not necessary until April 7 in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to the regulations, the production of vehicles is not considered a necessity, like the construction of grocery stores, gas stations, and medical facilities (Battini et al., 2017). Even if staff members opted to remain home during the shutdown, it is reported that Musk and business management wrote an email reminding them of Tesla’s importance to the transportation and energy networks. Therefore, Tesla’s Lockdown Defiance Scandal was improper from the perspective of rights and justice since it ignored both administrative and distributive justice and violated fundamental human rights.
Conclusion
Tesla’s corporate strategy has reflected the utilitarian ethical theory by concentrating on what could be most advantageous internally and externally and focusing on issues rather than criticism. Including its cutting-edge expertise in electric vehicles, Tesla is the highest vehicle manufacturer in the world. Tesla have upheld its industrial improvement through its novelties, representing its desire to build a more sustainable and clean future. Tesla is not honoring its fundamental values regarding workers, child labor, and equality following human rights’ ethical philosophy; instead, they have disregarded its obligations to further its objectives.
If Tesla did not change their strategy for resolving its human rights problems, the risk could have risked losing much confidence and facing further litigation. The proportion of COVID-19 incidents in the factory would have decreased if the corporation had adhered to moral standards. Numerous COVID-19 instances were documented at Tesla Inc.’s Fremont production facility, as per data and media sources following the lockdown defiance. The number of persons affected would have been substantially lower if Tesla had elected to keep the business closed. However, Despite suffering losses, the company remained imaginative and found answers.
References
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