Elon Musk jokes about whistleblowers with new Tesla product

Elon Musk has made an apparent joke about whistleblowers as he promoted a new piece of Tesla-branded merchandise.

Mr Musk's tweet to his 65m followers said "Blow the whistle on Tesla!" with a link to the $50 (£38) whistle.

It is currently marked as out of stock on the company's website.

In recent months, Tesla has faced lawsuits over alleged sexual harassment and racist abuse at its Fremont plant in California.

In the short thread, Mr Musk also tweeted:"Don't waste your money on that silly Apple Cloth, buy our whistle instead!", in a reference to the iPhone maker's $19 microfibre polishing cloth that went on sale last month.

"Inspired by Cybertruck, the limited-edition Cyberwhistle is a premium collectible made from medical-grade stainless steel with a polished finish. The whistle includes an integrated attachment feature for added versatility," the website description said.

The Cyberwhistle is shaped like the Cybertruck, the electric pickup truck that Mr Musk announced two years ago.

The new vehicle was supposed to go into production late this year but the company has since moved that date to next year.

The Cyberwhistle is in the lifestyle products section of Tesla's website, which also includes items such as $150 decanter, a $30 "S3XY" logo mug, and several diecast models of the company's vehicles.

Mr Musk is well-known for using Twitter to make jokes and spar with rivals.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request from the BBC for further information.

Last month, a female worker at Tesla's Fremont factory in California brought a lawsuit which said women face "nightmarish" conditions of rampant sexual harassment at the the plant.

Jessica Barraza, who worked night shifts at the factory, said she experienced "near daily" catcalls and inappropriate touching.

In October, Tesla was ordered to pay $137m to Owen Diaz, an African-American employee at the Fremont plant, for failing to stop him being abused.

Mr Diaz, who was a lift operator from 2015 to 2016, had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment, a San Francisco court found.

Tesla disputed the verdict but said it recognised it was "not perfect".