Tesla and Rivian have been in court since 2020. Tesla alleged that ex-employees stole and transferred trade secrets. Tesla also alleged that Rivian was encouraging Tesla employees to depart and bring said trade secrets with them on their way to Rivian.
Tesla is now seeking to have the suit dismissed on December 24th of this year, assuming the settlement terms are reached.
Initial Lawsuit
The initial lawsuit in 2020 involved several employees, including a Health and Safety Manager, a Charging Network Manager, and two Human Resources Recruiters, who all departed Tesla to move to Rivian. Tesla alleged that these employees took trade secrets, confidential materials, and proprietary information when they joined Rivian.
The next year, Tesla added to the suit, alleging that Rivian stole technology related to Tesla’s next-gen batteries. That would’ve been the 4680-cells back then - now the updated Cybercell which is shipping in the Cybertruck.
Out-of-Court Settlement
On November 25th, Tesla informed the California state court that it would be settling the matter with Rivian out of court. This means that Tesla and Rivian have come to an agreement outside of the court case, and Tesla will be dropping its lawsuit. This is good for both companies—extended legal battles are extremely expensive, especially with highly paid, specialized lawyers on both sides of the battle arguing it out for nearly four years.
It's good to see that both companies are moving forward. Rivian stock saw a positive bump in yesterday’s trading from this news—approximately 13%. We’re looking forward to seeing what both companies do in the future. It’d be best to see both as allies in electrifying the planet and supporting adventuring rather than at each other’s throats in court.
