By Marie Mannes and Gwladys Fouche
STOCKHOLM/OSLO (Reuters) - A strike by Tesla mechanics in Sweden, among the country's longest labour disputes, continues to disrupt operations, a union said on Wednesday, and is drawing scrutiny from investors despite Elon Musk saying the storm is over.
For months Tesla has been under pressure in the Nordics, with sympathy actions since October backing Swedish IF Metall's mechanics' demand for a collective agreement.
Postal workers, garbage collectors, repair centres, port workers, electricians, and cleaners are among those that have refused to handle Tesla business, forcing the company to find alternative ways of running its operations.
"I think the storm has passed on that front," Musk, who has been vocal about his opposition to unions, said on Monday in a live chat on his social media platform X. "I think things are reasonably good in Sweden."
The U.S. carmaker does not manufacture in Sweden, but its electric vehicles are serviced there by more than 120 mechanics.
IF Metall says it remains in dispute with Tesla.
"The strike in Sweden is still very much ongoing, our members are on strike," IF Metall spokesperson Jesper Pettersson told Reuters, adding the union was considering ramping up action.
"(Tesla) want to make an impression that business is as usual for them, but we know - and they know - that that's not entirely true."
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said its Swedish employees have as good, or better, terms than those the union is demanding.
INVESTOR PRESSURE
Musk's comment on Monday came in response to a question from the CEO of Norway's $1.6 trillion wealth fund, which owns 1% of Tesla's stock and is its eighth-largest investor, LSEG data shows.
The fund also raised the issue with Tesla chair Robyn Denholm in March, it told Reuters.
In 2022, the fund backed a shareholder proposal asking Tesla to adopt a policy on respecting rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
"(We) will continue to follow up on our expectations," said a fund spokesperson.
In December, some Nordic pension funds and other investors sent a letter to Tesla voicing concern. One fund, PensionDanmark, sold its shares in Tesla over the issue.
The ethics watchdog for four of Sweden's state pension funds, with a combined Tesla stake worth 314 million euros at end-2023, said this week it has discussed the strike with the automaker.
The head of the AP Funds' Council on Ethics, Jenny Gustafsson, told Reuters it had highlighted to Tesla how the Swedish model of collective bargaining is "well established and has provided stability and predictability in the Swedish labour market".
DISRUPTING OPERATIONS
Tesla's Model Y remained Sweden's most sold car in the first quarter of 2024. The group's overall registrations in the country declined some 8% year-on-year in the January-March period, broadly in line with the market, data from industry association Mobility Sweden showed.
One union supporting IF Metall's strike said Tesla's operations had still been affected.
"They have been forced to change their way of bringing cars into Sweden and Tesla employees have to handle waste and garbage themselves at the workshops," said Elin Lornbo of the Transport Workers' Union, which is blocking the company from delivering cars to Sweden by ship.
The transport union has said that it believes Tesla is bypassing the blockade by bringing cars in on trucks or by train.