Overview

• Tesla managers have visited the homes of sick employees to address high absenteeism rates at the Berlin gigafactory.
• Absenteeism at the Berlin factory reached 17% in August, significantly higher than the German auto industry's average of just over 5%.
• Tesla's management claims that some employees are exploiting Germany's social system, while the union IG Metall argues that workers are overworked and subjected to unsafe conditions.
• Elon Musk has pledged to investigate the high rates of sick leave, calling the situation 'crazy' in a social media post.
• IG Metall has criticized the home visits as 'absurd' and indicative of a 'culture of fear' at the factory, urging Tesla to improve working conditions instead.