Tesla's Scandinavian Troubles Over? Musk Thanks Sweden After Court Rules Against Workers' License Plate Blockade

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk expressed relief after a Swedish court ruled in favor of allowing the company to regain the supply of license plates otherwise blocked by postal workers.

What Happened: “Thank you, Sweden!,” Musk wrote after a Swedish court ruled that the country’s transport authority must find a way to deliver license plates to Tesla despite ongoing workers’ strike against the EV maker.

The automaker had filed a lawsuit against the authority and also state-run postal services provider PostNord after postal workers refused to deliver mail to Tesla.

The license plates issued by the transport authority are delivered via PostNord under usual circumstances.

However, the court on Monday ruled that the authority must get the plates to Tesla within seven days or pay a fine of 1 million Swedish crowns ($95,000) despite the postal workers’ strike.

The Ongoing Strike: In late October, IF Metall, a workers' union representing Tesla mechanics, commenced a strike against the automaker for collective bargaining agreements, a foundational aspect of the Swedish labor market. Collective agreements in Sweden encompass a range of employment conditions, including wages, form of employment, occupational pension, working hours, vacations, and notice periods.

Since then, other unions have joined the mechanics with dockworkers refusing to offload Tesla vehicles, unionized cleaning staff refusing to clean Tesla buildings, and electricians stopping service and repair work for Tesla. They were joined by postal workers on Nov.20.

Tesla, on its part, claims that despite the strike, more than 90% of its employees continue to remain in their positions for its terms are as good or better than the union's demands. 

Though Tesla does not manufacture in Sweden, its Model Y is the best-selling car model in Sweden so far this year. The EV maker was established in the European country 10 years ago in 2013.

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(Image created with artificial intelligence on MidJourney and Jonathan Weiss on Shutterstock)