Tesla Inc. sued a former engineer with the corporate’s extremely secretive Optimus program, accusing him of stealing confidential details about the humanoid robotic and organising a rival startup in Silicon Valley.
Zhongjie “Jay” Li labored at Tesla between August 2022 and September 2024, in line with a grievance filed in a San Francisco Federal Court docket late Wednesday. Li labored on “superior robotic hand sensors—and was entrusted with a few of the most delicate technical knowledge in this system,” Tesla’s attorneys stated within the grievance.
The swimsuit, additionally filed in opposition to his firm Proception Inc, alleges that within the weeks earlier than his departure, Li downloaded Optimus-related information onto two private smartphones after which fashioned his personal agency.
“Lower than every week after he left Tesla, Proception was included,” in line with the grievance. “And inside simply 5 months, Proception publicly claimed to have ‘efficiently constructed’ superior humanoid robotic arms—-hands that bear a putting resemblance to the designs Li labored on at Tesla.”
Li, who lists himself as founder and CEO of Proception on LinkedIn, didn’t reply to requests for remark despatched exterior of regular working hours on the platform. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to an emailed message looking for remark or message despatched by its web site. Proception relies in Palo Alto, California.
Attorneys for Li or the corporate weren’t instantly seen in courtroom filings.
Making a hand that’s as dexterous as a human one is without doubt one of the greatest challenges in robotics. Tesla intends for Optimus to carry out a number of duties, from working within the electrical automaker’s factories to dealing with day-after-day duties like grocery purchasing and babysitting. On Tesla’s earnings name in January, CEO Elon Musk stated that Optimus has probably the most subtle hand ever made.
“My prediction long-term is that Optimus will probably be overwhelmingly the worth of the corporate,” Musk stated.
An exhibit to the grievance consists of an emailed reminder to the Optimus group from August 2024 telling workers that Tesla IT property and networks are monitored and that “incidents of mishandling or suspected theft of Tesla property, together with knowledge and code, will probably be completely investigated.”
Li’s “conduct shouldn’t be solely illegal commerce misappropriation — it additionally constitutes a calculated effort to use Tesla’s investments, insights, and mental property for their very own industrial achieve,” Tesla’s attorneys stated within the submitting.
Milan Kovac, the top of engineering for Optimus, left Tesla final week, Bloomberg first reported. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s Autopilot groups, will take over duty for Optimus.
Learn extra: Tesla’s Head of Optimus Humanoid Robotic Program Exits Firm
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
