Sweden's longest strike ends: Tesla and Elon Musk declared winners

The protracted strike by Tesla factory workers in Sweden, organized by the IF Metall union, has concluded after 1,021 days, marking the longest industrial action in the country's history. Reports suggest that Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, have emerged victorious from the dispute.

According to the Swedish publication CarUp, unions accuse Tesla and Musk of circumventing the strike by offering substantial compensation packages to employees, encouraging them to return to work. This strategy appears to have undermined the union's efforts to compel the American company to sign a collective bargaining agreement.

Workers, particularly mechanics at Tesla's service centers in Sweden, initiated the strike in October 2023. They cited inferior working conditions compared to mechanics at other automotive brands and demanded a collective agreement, which Tesla had successfully avoided in Sweden until then. The strong tradition of collective agreements in Sweden, especially among large corporations, fueled the union's resolve, with Swedes pointing to Tesla's existing agreements in France as precedent.

The conflict escalated with solidarity strikes from other sectors. Dockworkers refused to unload Tesla vehicles, postal workers declined to deliver license plates, and electricity distributors hesitated to connect new Tesla charging stations. Tesla employed various tactics, including legal challenges and exploiting loopholes, to counter these actions. Notably, postal workers continued to refuse license plate deliveries until Tesla exhausted its options with law firms, while the postal service's management controversially purchased Tesla vehicles for its own fleet.