Gabrielle Toledano, Tesla’s former HR chief, advised Mr Musk to place two employees on the company’s safety team, as it could bar them from supporting a union.
In an email recovered by Bloomberg, she reportedly wrote: “I am confirming now with legal that if they join the safety team, they would then be considered part of management and not eligible to advocate for a union should they accept those roles.”
She added this would be an “amazing way to turn adversaries into those responsible for the problem”.
Mr Musk is reported to have responded simply, stating: “Exactly.”
However, Ms Toledano told Business Insider it was Mr Musk himself who suggested putting the employees on the safety team, and said she simply agreed to the proposal.
She noted it could be beneficial to place individuals with concerns surrounding their jobs on the teams responsible for addressing the issues in question.
A Tesla representative responded to the claims, and stated the company advocates for all employees interested in the safety of the company to join its safety team.
They said: “We encourage anyone who has ideas on how to improve safety to get involved with our safety team.
“These employees expressed interest in helping to improve safety at Tesla, so we explored ways to provide them with safety roles that would allow them to most effectively do that.”
Ms Toledano joined Tesla in May 2017 but confirmed her resignation earlier this month, following an extended leave of absence.
A Tesla spokesman confirmed Ms Toledano’s leave was confirmed following a request made by herself.
The email exchange between Ms Toledano and Mr Musk was released amid the National Labour Relations Board’s (NLRB) ongoing investigation into the company’s practices.
The agency is investigating whether Tesla violated US labour laws by interfering in union-organising activities and by taking action against employees who supported unions.
Tesla has denied the allegations, according to Bloomberg.
Ms Toledano is believed to have told an NLRB hearing on Tuesday that she considered moving the employees to the company’s safety team as a means of giving them the opportunity to “get involved in something they were criticising”.