Tesla accuses Rivian of poaching staff and stealing trade secrets
US electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla has alleged that rival Rivian has shown “a disturbing pattern of trade secret theft” and that four of its former employees stole confidential information when they left to work for the start-up.
In a suit filed at the Superior Court of California in the State of Santa Clara on July 17, Tesla claimed that electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian had attempted to misappropriate Tesla’s trade secrets “by recruiting Tesla employees and encouraging them to take such information as they leave Tesla”.
In addition to the four former staff identified, Tesla said it suspects there are more people who may have stolen and taken confidential company information to Rivian.
Tesla claimed that it is Rivian’s “number one target from which to acquire information, including trade secret, confidential, and proprietary information”, and that employees had divulged “highly sensitive” information” that would give Rivian “a huge competitive advantage”.
According to Tesla, Rivian has hired 178 former Tesla employees, 70 of which have joined Rivian directly. The company also claimed that 13 of Rivian’s recruiters are former Tesla employees, who are familiar with the types of information Tesla employees have access to and what information would be useful to Rivian.
Tesla alleged that two of the named defendants, former managers Tami Pascale and Jessica Siron, have admitted to taking confidential information.
According to the complaint, when Tesla confronted Rivian’s associate general counsel, Ash Zahr, he took a “cavalier attitude” toward the accusations and “claimed that taking confidential information was common in the industry” .
Tesla is seeking unspecified damages for what it alleges is “despicable, wanton, oppressive, willful, malicious, [and] duplicitous” conduct. Rivian responded by dismissing the allegations. In a statement reported by The Verge, a spokesperson said: “Upon joining Rivian, we require all employees to confirm that they have not, and will not, introduce former employers’ IP into Rivian systems. This suit’s allegations are baseless and run counter to Rivian’s culture, ethos and corporate policies.”
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