In his lawsuit, Tesla claimed that Rivian had hired dozens of his former employees and alleged that some of them took confidential manufacturing, organizing and recruiting information, as well as lists of Tesla employees who could be chosen for hiring.
“This dispute stems from Rivian’s efforts to embezzle Tesla’s trade secret, proprietary and confidential information by recruiting Tesla employees and encouraging them to take that information when they leave Tesla,” the lawsuit states.
A Rivian spokesman denied the charges in the lawsuit.
“The allegations in this lawsuit are unsubstantiated and contrary to Rivian’s culture, spirit and corporate policies,” it said in an emailed statement.
“By joining Rivian, we require all employees to confirm that they have not, and will not, introduce the intellectual property of former employers into Rivian’s systems,” the company added.
Two of the Rivian employees named in the lawsuit work in Rivian’s recruiting department. The lawsuit alleges Rivian encouraged one of them to steal documents, including recruitment plans and payment and bonus formulas.
Another Rivian employee named in the lawsuit had previously worked in Tesla’s environmental health and safety department. Tesla alleges former employee sent documents to personal account related to factory building, such as robotics and other manufacturing automation processes.
Rivian also hired a Tesla manager who, according to the lawsuit, e-mailed a list of Tesla employees who were experts in establishing and managing electric vehicle charging networks. Tesla claims that the list of employees who he said were recruited by Rivian was confidential information.
CNN has attempted to contact the four people named in the lawsuit, but has not yet received responses from them.
The lawsuit also alleges that twenty other unidentified Rivian employees who used to work at Tesla may also have stolen Tesla’s trade secrets. Their names could be added to the suit later.
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