Tesla confirmed Vandermeyden’s firing in a statement to The Verge, saying it had conducted an independent, third-party review of her claims and determined that they were false. “Despite repeatedly receiving special treatment at the expense of others, Ms. Vandermeyden nonetheless chose to pursue a miscarriage of justice by suing Tesla and falsely attacking our company in the press,” a spokesperson said. “After we carefully considered the facts on multiple occasions and were absolutely convinced that Ms. Vandermeyden's claims were illegitimate, we had no choice but to end her employment at Tesla.”
Surely they'd want to be pretty confident to take this action and make this statement.
"Special treatment", "miscarriage of justice"...these are not neutral words. Those are the words of people looking for a fight, not the usual corporate platitudes that don't commit them to a path.
In a court of justice, sure. In the court of public opinion however ... If it appears as if Tesla is punishing a victim of harassment for speaking up, the hit to their reputation will hurt. Since the kind of person who drives an electric car also tends to care about gender equality issues (I think), this could make them lose a significant part of their customer base.
Surely they'd want to be pretty confident to take this action and make this statement.