Photo: screenshot from YouTube
For all intents and purposes, Tesla Motors is probably often making the headlines due to controversial reasons. Model S sedans catching fire, Falcon door gremlins, Autopilot shortcomings, legal matters, lots of things can go wrong. On this occasion, though, an oil industry higher-up pretended to be Elon Musk.
As hardly believable as it seems, corporate espionage is a reality. Also, it’s a threat to any business, regardless of domain, whose prosperity is depending on information. As reported by Forbes, Tesla Motors had decided to sue Todd Katz, chief financial officer of an oil pipeline services company called Quest Integrity Group. Integrity, it seems, has little to do with the said executive.
The suit filed by the electric vehicle manufacturer against Todd Katz violates Penal Code Section 528.5: “Unlawful, Deceptive, and Unfair Business Acts and Practices In Violation of California Business and Professions Code.” So what has the CFO of Quest Integrity Group, which provides services for ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP, done to upset Tesla Motors? It’s simple. He used “[email protected]” to impersonate Elon Musk. Uhm, LOL?
Having an e-mail account on Yahoo is like so 2000s, you know, but then again, it’s not illegal. What’s illegal, however, is that Katz used [email protected] to seek confidential financial projection. More worryingly, Katz also inquired about Tesla Motors pre-order numbers.
Here’s the e-mail Todd Katz allegedly sent to Jason Wheeler, Tesla’s CFO:
“why you so cautious w Q3/4 gm guidance on call? also what are your thoughts on disclosing M3 res#? Pros/cons from ir pov? what is your best guess as to where we actually come in on q3/4 deliverables. honest guess? no bs. thx 4 hard work prepping 4 today
em”
Valuable non-public information in the wrong hands translates to one side’s profit and the other’s downfall. Hence, Todd Katz and as many as 10 other individuals will be investigated for their demeanor.
The suit filed by the electric vehicle manufacturer against Todd Katz violates Penal Code Section 528.5: “Unlawful, Deceptive, and Unfair Business Acts and Practices In Violation of California Business and Professions Code.” So what has the CFO of Quest Integrity Group, which provides services for ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP, done to upset Tesla Motors? It’s simple. He used “[email protected]” to impersonate Elon Musk. Uhm, LOL?
Having an e-mail account on Yahoo is like so 2000s, you know, but then again, it’s not illegal. What’s illegal, however, is that Katz used [email protected] to seek confidential financial projection. More worryingly, Katz also inquired about Tesla Motors pre-order numbers.
Here’s the e-mail Todd Katz allegedly sent to Jason Wheeler, Tesla’s CFO:
“why you so cautious w Q3/4 gm guidance on call? also what are your thoughts on disclosing M3 res#? Pros/cons from ir pov? what is your best guess as to where we actually come in on q3/4 deliverables. honest guess? no bs. thx 4 hard work prepping 4 today
em”
Valuable non-public information in the wrong hands translates to one side’s profit and the other’s downfall. Hence, Todd Katz and as many as 10 other individuals will be investigated for their demeanor.
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