Tesla faces negligence lawsuit after Austin mass shooting suspect was allegedly tied to prior workplace assault
Lawsuit links December incident at Gigafactory Texas to March 1 West Sixth Street attack
Tesla is facing a civil lawsuit in Travis County after a former employee alleged she was assaulted at the company’s Austin-area facility by the man later identified by police as the shooter in the March 1 mass attack in downtown Austin.
The suit seeks more than $1 million in damages and alleges the company failed to provide a safe workplace and negligently supervised an employee described in the filing as having “known aggressive tendencies.” The plaintiff, identified in court filings and subsequent reporting as Lillian Mendoza Brady, is 65 and lives in the Austin area.
What the lawsuit alleges happened at the Tesla facility
In the complaint, Brady alleges she was attacked without provocation at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas site during a company-permitted prayer break on Dec. 4, 2025. The filing describes an encounter in a common-area setting in which the assailant allegedly grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Brady’s claim centers on whether Tesla had information that could have identified the alleged assailant and whether the company’s response after the reported incident was adequate. The lawsuit also asks that Tesla preserve evidence related to the alleged assault, including internal communications and any available recordings.
- The plaintiff alleges she reported the incident both to Tesla and to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
- The sheriff’s office investigated the allegation and later closed the case after the suspect died.
How the alleged assailant was identified
The filing states Brady did not know the identity of the man she says assaulted her until after images and identifying information circulated following the West Sixth Street shooting. Federal investigators interviewed Brady in the days after the March 1 attack, the plaintiff’s attorney has said publicly.
What is known about the March 1 downtown shooting
Austin police identified the shooter as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. Authorities said the attack unfolded just before 2 a.m. outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on West Sixth Street, beginning with gunfire from a vehicle toward people gathered outside. Police said the shooter used a handgun and also had an AR-style rifle. Diagne was fatally shot by responding officers.
Federal authorities have said the incident is being investigated for potential links to terrorism, while investigators have also emphasized that motive had not been established in the early days of the case.
The civil lawsuit raises questions about whether an earlier reported workplace assault could have served as a warning sign and whether any actionable information was available to prevent harm.
Next steps and what the case may test
The lawsuit is expected to focus on workplace safety practices at the Austin facility, the handling of employee complaints, and the availability and retention of security video or access records. Tesla has not publicly detailed its response to the allegations. The case arrives as Austin remains in an active investigative phase into the March 1 shooting, including review of law-enforcement actions and the shooter’s background.