The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said that Tesla’s current dress code policy was unlawful. Specifically, the part where it only allowed employees to wear Tesla or other pre-approved black tee shirts. That policy meant union swag was not allowed – a hindrance to anyone trying to organize or show union solidarity.

Tesla’s policy went into effect in 2017, and employees were told they could n’t wear shirts baring the United Auto Workers logo. Tesla attempted to justify its dress policy to the board claiming that its black shirts prevent damage to cars and it needed to maintain’visual management’ of its employees.

Special circumstances continue to exist and allow employers to apply minor restrictions, such as size and location of the union insignia. The board reaffirms that any attempt to restrict the wearing of union clothing or insignia is presumptively unlawful.

Wal-Mart argued that customer-facing employees needed to maintain professional attire. Tesla can not restrict them from wearing the logo itself.

In 2019, a judge ruled that Tesla had been sabotaging unionization efforts. In March of this year Tesla CEO Elon Musk even invited the UAW to hold a union vote.