Calif. Tesla worker alleges company denied him job over cannabis use

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has put his cannabis use on the highest stage possible, openly smoking weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast, but according to a new lawsuit, Tesla is far from friendly to employees who use medical marijuana off the clock. 

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Mark Dollard, an employee at Tesla’s Fremont factory in the Bay Area, alleged in a lawsuit filed last week that the company discriminated against and harassed him for using medical marijuana to treat a knee injury, and denied him a job transfer because he tested positive for THC. 

The lawsuit, first covered by Law360.com, seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages from Tesla as well as a third-party human resources contractor for allegedly engaging in disability discrimination, retaliation and harassment as well as over a dozen other legal claims. Tesla did not return an SFGATE request for comment.

Dollard was hired by Tesla’s Fremont factory in May 2022 and had existing knee problems that were a physical disability the company was aware of when they hired him, according to the lawsuit. Dollard’s condition deteriorated and required surgery in December 2023. He returned to work unable to perform the same tasks, so Tesla encouraged him to apply for another job, the lawsuit said. When he tested positive for THC as part of a drug test for the job transfer, the company allegedly denied his transfer request.

Dollard has a medical marijuana card and “uses marijuana in his personal time for pain management,” according to his lawsuit. 

“Defendants disqualified Plaintiff from the position solely on the basis of the THC result and denied his request to use medical marijuana as an accommodation, without engaging in any individualized assessment of whether an accommodation was feasible,” the lawsuit said.

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Tesla and its third-party human resources contractor then allegedly made it difficult for Dollard to comply with their requests, and failed to engage with him as legally required, the lawsuit says. He went on a further medical leave in late 2025, and then had another medical episode in February 2026 after returning to work. Tesla then told Dollard in May that he was at risk of termination for attendance problems despite Dollard still having accrued paid leave to use, the lawsuit said. 

Dollard filed a complaint with the state in May alleging that Tesla had violated the law by harassing him and discriminating against him. Two days later, another Tesla employee allegedly started tracking Dollard’s movement looking for “pretextual grounds for adverse action,” which constitutes retaliation, the lawsuit said. 

Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has publicly admitted to drug use, including having a prescription for ketamine to treat depression and using red wine and Ambien. He also famously smoked marijuana during a September 2018 episode of Joe Rogan’s massively popular podcast. 

California law prevents companies from discriminating against applicants or employees for using cannabis outside of work hours, though there are several employee classes, including construction and federally regulated jobs, that are not protected. That law went into effect in January 2024, and Dollar’s lawsuit says his drug test happened “in or around 2023 and 2024” so it may have been before the statute was applicable. Dollard did not specifically cite the provision in his lawsuit, and is instead suing over other non-cannabis-related claims.