The United Auto Workers (UAW) union filed a federal labor complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Tuesday against former President Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, alleging that the two attempted to intimidate employees during conversations on X. Musk responded to the complaint in his own words.

The UAW said in its complaint that both men threatened workers who engaged in protected labor activities, including strikes. The union seized on comments made by Trump during Monday's conversation about how employers should handle striking workers.

"I mean, I'm watching what you do. You walk in and you say, you want to quit? They're on strike, I won't mention the name of the company, but they're on strike. And you (can) say, never mind, y'all are fired. You're all gone. So, every single one of you is gone," Trump told Musk.

The UAW is backing Democratic presidential candidate Harris and is eager to portray Trump as a friend of the rich to undermine the Republican presidential candidate's appeal to working-class voters. "When we say Trump is against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean," said UAW President Shawn Fain.

While the UAW highlighted Trump's comments in a press release describing the charges, it did not mention any remarks made by Musk during the conversation.

Musk responded to this on X on Tuesday, saying: "The previous two UAW presidents went to jail for bribery and corruption. Based on recent news, it looks like this guy (Fein) will join them!"

However, Musk's comment is not accurate. The last two UAW presidents did not go to jail, but the two presidents before them were convicted in a massive corruption investigation.

Musk has previously said he disagrees with the idea of unions, and his other company, SpaceX, has also challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. Musk said at a conference last year that unions "try to create negativity within the company and create a lord-and-peasant situation." "If Tesla is unionized, it's because we deserve it and have failed in some ways," Musk said, "but we do work very hard to ensure everyone thrives."