He was previously awarded a verdict of $137 million in 2021, including punitive damages, after a jury determined Diaz had suffered civil rights violations at Tesla, and that the electric vehicle maker failed to take all reasonable steps to end and prevent the racist harassment. A distressed and at times tearful Diaz told the court again last week about how his colleagues at Tesla used racist epithets to denigrate him and other Black workers, made him feel physically unsafe at work, told him to "go back to Africa" and left racist graffiti in the restrooms and a racist drawing in his workspace. As CNBC has previously reported, where it is legal to do so, Tesla has compelled employees to agree to mandatory arbitration