Elon Musk-run Tesla has countersued California Civil Rights Department (CRD), that alleged racial bias at the electric car-maker’s US factory in a lawsuit.

Tesla alleged in its countersuit, filed in state court in Alameda County, saying the CRD adopted “underground regulations” in its investigations of its Fremont, California factory, reports TechCrunch.

The CRD had sued Tesla in February over allegations of Black workers being subjected to “mistreatment, harassment, unequal pay and a hostile work environment”.

The electric car-maker had been trying to somehow convince the judge to dismiss the racial bias case but to no avail.

The Musk company alleged that the CRD violated state law by not seeking public comment before adopting procedures for investigating and suing employers.

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, has countersued the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), which had filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination at the electric car manufacturer’s US manufacturing.

According to TechCrunch, Tesla said in a countersuit it filed in state court in Alameda County that the CRD used “hidden regulations” when looking into its Fremont, California manufacturing.

According to claims that Black employees at Tesla had been subjected to “mistreatment, harassment, uneven compensation, and a hostile work environment,” the CRD had sued Tesla in February.

The maker of electric vehicles tried in vain to persuade the judge to throw out the racial bias complaint.

The Musk firm claimed that by failing to seek public input prior to implementing policies for investigating and suing companies, the CRD had broken state law.

The automaker has been accused of racial bias at its plants in the past

An ex-employee who claimed to have experienced racial abuse, discrimination, and harassment at Tesla’s Fremont, California, facility was awarded over $137 million in damages by a federal court in October of last year.

Between June 2015 and May 2016, elevator operator Owen Diaz filed a lawsuit against the automaker, claiming racial harassment and a hostile work environment.

The jury demanded an additional $6.9 million from Tesla for psychological harm caused to Diaz.

“Diaz never worked for Tesla. He was a contract employee who worked for Citistaff and nextSource. Diaz worked as an elevator operator at the Fremont factory for nine months, from June 2015 to March 2016,” Workman posted in a blog post.