The story of a union effort in Sweden against Tesla has been evolving quickly, with one Swedish court announcing a ruling shortly after the automaker sued two country agencies for withholding license plates from the automaker.
Tesla Sweden sued both the country’s Transport Agency and mail provider PostNord over the weekend, after the Swedish union IF Metall announced plans to withhold the company’s license plates through agreements with the government agencies. Not long after Tesla announced the lawsuits, the Norrköping district court ruled on Monday that if the Transport Agency didn’t distribute the license plates within a week, it would be subject to a fine of one million kroner (~$94,009), as reported by the Swedish outlet Aftonbladet.
“It is true that there has been a decision in which they approve Tesla’s lawsuit,” Setterwalls
lawyer Johannes Ericson told the publication.
Tesla submitted the dual lawsuits to the Norrköping district court Monday through the Swedish law firm Setterwalls.
According to the original suits, Tesla demanded an interim agreement in which it could receive the license plates directly from the manufacturer, Scandinavian Motorcenter. The ruling officially approved the interim arrangement, though the Swedish Transport Agency must still consent to Tesla picking the plates up directly or it will incur the fine.
“I have no comments regarding the decision,” Ericson added. “Tesla will be responsible for any comments regarding the decision.”
CEO Elon Musk has since responded to the decision in a reply to the news on X.
Thank you, Sweden!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 27, 2023
In a separate lawsuit against PostNord filed in the Solna district court, Ericson says a decision hasn’t yet been made.
The news comes after Tesla received a strike notice from IF Metall late last month, and following the expansion of strikes to include workers at four major ports in Sweden, attempting to block the automaker’s vehicles from arriving in the country.
Updated 12:16 p.m. MT: Added Elon Musk’s comment on X.
Tesla Sweden vehicle deliveries increase 55% YoY despite strike: report
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