Tesla Will Pay Travel and Living Costs for Employees Seeking Out-of-State Abortions

Elon Musk’s Tesla has joined the list of companies offering travel compensation for employees seeking to get an abortion but live in states where they are banned.

Tesla is latest firm to announce it will pay for staff's travel and living costs if they have to leave state for an abortion as companies react to Roe v Wade leak https://t.co/nUCf0RwYNt

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 7, 2022

According to the company’s 2021 impact report released on Friday, since 2021, “an expanded Safety Net program and health insurance offering that includes travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”

Tesla moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas last year.

Tesla officially moves its headquarters to Austin, Texas https://t.co/NiGCprnSum pic.twitter.com/nQpO2L5rJl

— New York Post (@nypost) December 2, 2021

Texas passed a “heartbeat” law that will effectively outlaw abortions in the state after 6 weeks and gives any citizen – including those outside Texas – the right to take legal action against anyone who ‘aids and abets’ the termination of a pregnancy after the cut-off point.

Daily Mail reported:

Musk has not commented on Tesla’s new policy, but in September tweeted that he felt the government should ‘rarely impose its will’ on the people.

‘In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics.’

The company joins a list of dozens that have made moves to provide assistance to employees in reaction to states maneuvering to block women’s to access abortion.

More than 50 American companies have begun offering abortion assistance in response to recent laws limiting abortion, including Amazon, Uber, Lyft, Citigroup, Saleforce, and Yelp.

Axios provided further details:

Multiple companies have suggested they’ll pay for travel expenses if employees have to receive health care services in another state.

Levi Strauss & Co. said in a statement that employees will be reimbursed for travel expenses for receiving health care services outside their state, including abortions.

• “We know this is a fraught conversation; it’s not something we enter into lightly. But women make up 58% of our global workforce, and in recent years, numerous employees have expressed to leadership their growing alarm over the rollback of all forms of reproductive care,” the company said.
• “Our position on this is in keeping with our efforts to support employees and family members at all stages of their lives.”

Apple said it would cover medical expenses for employees in Texas who have to travel outside of the state for abortions, per the Washington Post.

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Tesla said it would cover travel costs for employees seeking abortions outside of their state, per the AP.

• The company’s 2021 “Impact Report” released Friday said the company’s Safety Net program will now include “travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”
• Tesla’s headquarters is located in Texas which has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Salesforce said it is willing to relocate workers from Texas due to the state’s new abortion law, CNBC reports.

Amazon said it would cover up to $4,000 in travel for United States workers who are seeking medical treatments, including abortions, per Reuters.

Uber and Lyft both pledged to cover any legal fees in case their drivers are sued because of Oklahoma’s new abortion bill, which allows citizens to sue anyone they suspect has helped someone receive an abortion.

Citigroup will cover travel expenses for employees who are forced to travel outside their state for abortions, MarketWatch reports.

• “In response to changes in reproductive health care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources,” the company said in a filing back in April.

Yelp said it would offer assistance through the company’s insurance plan for employees and their dependents if they need to travel out of state for an abortion, the Wall Street Journal reports.