Tesla’s Most Prominent Black Executive Is Leaving The Company

Tesla HR chief Valerie Capers Workman is leaving the company, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. Workman first became Tesla’s head of HR in 2020 and was among the most senior Black executives at the company.

She first joined the company in 2018 as an attorney in its legal department but now she’s set to join Handshake, the career network firm, as a chief legal officer.

In the internal email seen by Bloomberg, Workman compared her experience at Tesla with that of her time in track and field sports in high school, where she had to “pass off the baton in a better place than when I received it.”

Although her time at Telsa is short-lived she acted as spokesperson for the firm during a high-profile racial discrimination case in 2021.

A jury awarded $137 million in damages to Owen Diaz, who said he suffered racial harassment while working as an elevator operator in Tesla’s Fremont factory.

But after the verdict went against Tesla, Workman wrote in a blog post: “The Tesla of 2015 and 2016 (when Mr. Diaz worked in the Fremont factory) is not the same as the Tesla of today.”

The firm is appealing the verdict.

In an email to the outlet, she said she felt “confident that I have done this at Tesla with the implementation of so many important programs for employees worldwide.”

She said: “I am proud of all that I was able to accomplish at Tesla with the support of truly excellent colleagues, especially the People and Legal teams.”