WASHINGTON (TND) -- The United Auto Workers has filed unfair labor practice charges against former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over comments they made during an interview streamed on X Monday night about striking workers being fired from the automaker.

The union said that Musk and Trump interfered with workers who might want to join a union and filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board, which has said it will investigate.

In a discussion about government spending in a long interview between Musk and Trump, the former president praised the Tesla CEO for firing workers who went on strike.

"You're the greatest cutter," Trump said. "I look at what you do. You walk in and say, 'You want to quit?' I won't mention the name of the company but they go on strike and you say, 'That's OK. You're all gone.'"

The UAW said the exchange could intimidate workers at Tesla or the Trump campaign that might want to join a union. UAW has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race.

"When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean," UAW president Shawn Fain said in a statement. "Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk."

Trump's campaign dismissed the labor charges as a baseless political stunt meant to harm his standing with working voters in the Nov. 5 election.