Tesla initiated legal action against the Swedish state through the country’s Transport Agency, following the disruption in the delivery of vehicle license plates due to a postal workers’ strike in Sweden.
This action impacts the distribution of plates for new vehicles from Tesla, a Texas-based car manufacturer. Tesla, which operates without union representation worldwide, is facing demands from Swedish workers to sign a collective bargaining agreement, a common practice for most Swedish employees.
Despite not having a manufacturing facility in Sweden, Tesla maintains several service centers there.
The company argues that the inability to obtain registration plates represents an illegal and discriminatory action specifically targeting Tesla.
In the lawsuit, Tesla requests the district court to impose a 1 million kronor (approximately $95,383) penalty on the Swedish Transport Agency.
This fine is intended to compel the agency to provide Tesla with the ability to retrieve license plates within three days of the court’s ruling.
Filed on Monday, Tesla’s lawsuit contends that the agency is constitutionally mandated to issue license plates to vehicle owners. Tesla describes the withholding of license plates as an unprecedented and targeted attack against a company operating in Sweden.
Mikael Andersson, a press spokesperson for the agency, told The Associated Press (AP) in an email that “we at the Swedish Transport Agency do not share this view” that the agency was blocking the distribution of license plates. “Therefore Tesla has decided to have the issue tested in court, which is their right.”
“We have not yet seen the lawsuit and it is therefore difficult for us to give any direct comments. We need to look at the lawsuit and Tesla’s reasoning in it,” Andersson said.
