Photo: Rivian
Tesla and Rivian are officially engaged in a legal showdown, with either EV maker trying to convince the judge that the other one is not playing by the rules and engaging in misleading and illegal behavior.
It started at the end of last month, when Tesla sued Rivian and four individuals who had left Tesla for Rivian. The lawsuit argued that Rivian was actively poaching staff with the goal of stealing trade secrets, and went as far as to claim that Rivian instructed former Tesla employees to take with them when they left their old job whatever kind of information they had.
There was a pattern of behavior with Rivian, Tesla argued. Some 178 employees left Tesla for Rivian, and 70 of them left directly. This was no ordinary decision of “I need to get a new, better job,” the lawsuit argued.
In response, Rivian released a statement to acknowledge Tesla’s pioneer status on the EV market and deny the claims. The official response came in a filing with the California Superior Court in Santa Clara, asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed as it is without merit, misleading and damaging to Rivian’s reputation.
You will find a PDF of the response below. In short, Rivian denies it ever engaged in the practice of stealing trade secrets and poaching talent, and notes that Tesla fails to offer substantial fact that it did. In other words, proof or it didn’t happen.
In addition to denying the claims made by Tesla, Rivian doubles down on the attack, questioning the real motive behind the lawsuit, as well as the timing for it.
“Tesla sued in an improper and malicious attempt to slow down Rivian’s momentum and attempt to damage Rivian’s brand,” Rivian says. “And it sued in an abusive attempt to scare employees thinking about leaving Tesla. […] This lawsuit is driven by these improper aims, and Tesla’s desire to use the judicial system as a prop to deflect attention from Tesla’s own challenges, to foment fear, uncertainty, and doubt about Rivian, and to provide the pretext to disparage Rivian and its own former employees in the press.”
Legalese translated: Tesla is out to tarnish Rivian’s reputation by making unfounded claims, driven by jealousy that Rivian is shaping up to be an actual rival on the EV market. Tesla is also suing to scare its own staff into not leaving, even if they’re not happy with what they have. Oh, them’s fightin’ words!
There was a pattern of behavior with Rivian, Tesla argued. Some 178 employees left Tesla for Rivian, and 70 of them left directly. This was no ordinary decision of “I need to get a new, better job,” the lawsuit argued.
In response, Rivian released a statement to acknowledge Tesla’s pioneer status on the EV market and deny the claims. The official response came in a filing with the California Superior Court in Santa Clara, asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed as it is without merit, misleading and damaging to Rivian’s reputation.
You will find a PDF of the response below. In short, Rivian denies it ever engaged in the practice of stealing trade secrets and poaching talent, and notes that Tesla fails to offer substantial fact that it did. In other words, proof or it didn’t happen.
In addition to denying the claims made by Tesla, Rivian doubles down on the attack, questioning the real motive behind the lawsuit, as well as the timing for it.
“Tesla sued in an improper and malicious attempt to slow down Rivian’s momentum and attempt to damage Rivian’s brand,” Rivian says. “And it sued in an abusive attempt to scare employees thinking about leaving Tesla. […] This lawsuit is driven by these improper aims, and Tesla’s desire to use the judicial system as a prop to deflect attention from Tesla’s own challenges, to foment fear, uncertainty, and doubt about Rivian, and to provide the pretext to disparage Rivian and its own former employees in the press.”
Legalese translated: Tesla is out to tarnish Rivian’s reputation by making unfounded claims, driven by jealousy that Rivian is shaping up to be an actual rival on the EV market. Tesla is also suing to scare its own staff into not leaving, even if they’re not happy with what they have. Oh, them’s fightin’ words!
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