Tesla has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California accusing Matthews International, its previous supplier, of stealing and improperly using its proprietary information concerning the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.
Per Reuters, Tesla claims Matthews breached its agreements by disclosing confidential information.
According to the complaint, Matthews, based in Pittsburgh, started supplying manufacturing machinery to Tesla in 2019 and subsequently gained access to proprietary knowledge about dry-electrode coating techniques.
Tesla asserts that Matthews misappropriated these trade secrets by sharing them with unnamed competitors and including Tesla's innovations in its patent applications, revealing confidential details about Tesla's operations.
It is also alleged that Matthews might have been motivated by financial gain, believing that replicating and selling Tesla's innovations could lead to massive profits. Currently, Tesla's market cap stands at $594.14 billion.
Tesla on Ex-Supplier Matthews International
Tesla is seeking damages from Matthews, which it estimates to exceed $1 billion, and is also requesting the court to block Matthews from further access to its trade secrets and prevent the supplier company from benefiting from the stolen information in the future.
A spokesperson for Matthews International and representatives from Tesla have not yet responded to requests for comment.
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