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This is a partial list of lawsuits involving
Tesla, Inc Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid ...
, the American automotive and energy company, since 2008; as of December 2021, Tesla is party to over 1,200
lawsuits - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...
, and as of September 2021, it is party to 200 in China alone. A significant amount of the cases notably derive from the actions of the company's CEO,
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
, who is also party to many of his own lawsuits.
TSLAQ TSLAQ (pronounced "Tesla Q") is a loose, international collective of largely anonymous short-sellers, skeptics, and researchers who openly criticize Tesla, Inc. and its CEO Elon Musk. The group primarily organizes on Twitter, often using the $ ...
, a loose collective of anonymous short-sellers and skeptics of Tesla and
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
, regularly discusses and shares news of these lawsuits on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and elsewhere.


On-going


Securities litigation related to Musk "funding secured" tweet

Between August 10, 2018, and September 6, 2018, nine purported stockholder class actions were filed against Tesla and Elon Musk in connection with Elon Musk's August 7, 2018, Twitter post that he was considering taking Tesla private. All of the suits are now pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Although the complaints vary in certain respects, they each purport to assert claims for violations of federal securities laws related to Mr. Musk's statement and seek unspecified compensatory damages and other relief on behalf of a purported class of purchasers of Tesla's securities. A motion to dismiss was denied on April 15, 2020. , no resolution has been reached. Between October 17, 2018, and November 9, 2018, five derivative lawsuits were filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Mr. Musk and the members of Tesla's board of directors as then constituted in relation to statements made and actions connected to the potential going private transaction. These cases have been stayed pending resolution of the stockholder class action. A lawsuit filed in March 2021 alleges that Musk violated his fiduciary duty to Tesla by continuing to send "erratic" tweets in violation of the SEC settlement, and that the board is failing to control Musk. The case has been stayed pending resolution of the stockholder class action.


Litigation relating to 2018 CEO performance award

In June 2018, a Tesla stockholder filed a putative class and derivative action in the
Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the American state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court. Since 2018, the court consists of seven judges. The chie ...
against Musk and the members of Tesla's board of directors alleging they breached their fiduciary duties by approving Musk's unusually high stock-based compensation plan. The complaint seeks monetary damages and a restructuring of the CEO's stock-based compensation plan. The trial is set for October 2022.


Litigation related to Directors' compensation

On June 17, 2020, a Detroit pension fund filed a derivative action against the Tesla board members. The lawsuit claims the board members have consistently awarded themselves unfair and excessive compensation from 2017 to 2020. Trial is set for September 2023.


Whistleblower allegations and retaliation

In 2019, Lynn Thompson sued Tesla for terminating his security contract after he reported the theft of US$37 million worth of copper and other raw materials to local authorities. In 2020, the case was stayed pending arbitration. In November 2020, former Tesla employee Steven Henkes filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired by Tesla in retaliation for raising safety concerns about "unacceptable fire risks" in the company's solar installations. Tesla solar installations have caught fire at seven Walmart locations, as well as an Amazon warehouse. The SEC confirmed in September 2021 that it has an active and ongoing investigation related to the whistleblower complaint Henkes made in 2019. , the lawsuit is unresolved.


Agreement misrepresented as loan

A Tesla Solar customer alleged in a 2020 filing that the company engaged in "bait-and-switch financing" for reporting his solar-financing agreement as "a massive loan" to credit agencies, therefore upending the customer's credit rating. In April 2021, the case was ordered to arbitration. , the case was still in arbitration.


Bios Group lawsuit

In December 2020, Dutch taxi service Bios Group filed for over 1.3 million EU in damages against Tesla, citing defects including broken power steering and odometers.


Full-Self Driving claim

In August 2021, a Tesla owner filed a complaint that Tesla "fraudulently concealed its engineering failures" in regards to its beta Full Self-Driving software and falsely represented the capabilities of the product. , the case is unresolved.


Texas police complaint

In September 2021, five police officers submitted a complaint against in part Tesla for a crash involving Autopilot that left them badly injured. The plaintiffs' stated aim is to "force Tesla to publicly acknowledge and immediately correct the known defects inherent in its Autopilot apability.


Sexual harassment at Fremont facility cases

In December 2021, six women working at the Fremont factory and service center filed sexual harassment lawsuits against the company.


Fair Employment and Housing racism suit

In February 2022, the
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) (formerly known as the ''Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)'') is an agency of California state government charged with the protection of residents from employment, housing and public ac ...
(DFEH) sued Tesla for "discriminating against its Black workers" after it "received hundreds of complaints from Tesla workers." and "found evidence that Tesla's Fremont factory is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to
racial slurs The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or ot ...
and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay and promotion creating a hostile work environment". One Black worker complained of hearing racial slurs as often as 50 to 100 times per day. In a February 2022 blog post, Tesla responded to the lawsuit and stated that they "will be asking the court to pause the case and take other steps to ensure that facts and evidence will be heard." In August 2022, California's Office of Administrative Law declined to review a petition from Tesla claiming that DFEH failed to conduct a full investigation prior to filing the lawsuit.


Autopilot fatality suits

, litigation is ongoing in three cases involving the use of
Tesla Autopilot Tesla Autopilot is a suite of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) features offered by Tesla that amounts to SAE International Level 2 vehicle automation. Its features are lane centering, traffic-aware cruise control, automatic lane ch ...
during a fatal incident: the cases of Walter Huang, Jeremy Banner, and Jenna Monet.


Individual racism lawsuits

, litigation is ongoing related to Kaylen Barker and Marc Cage who both alleged racial-based harassment from their Tesla factory coworkers.


"Whompy wheels" lawsuit

In February 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Tesla regarding a fatality involving suspension breakage (so-called "whompy wheels"). The lawsuit follows a Tesla recall in China due to breakages of front and rear suspension linkages and ball joints, noting that the same components are used in all models of Tesla's that have been sold in North America and around the world. Tesla had recently claimed in a letter to the NHTSA that "the root cause of the issue is driver abuse...uniquely severe in the China market."


Sudden unintended braking class action

In August 2022, a consumer class action was filed alleging that the Autopilot system in Tesla cars "contains a hazardous defect which causes the vehicle to suddenly and unintentionally brake," a phenomenon dubbed phantom braking.


Dogecoin racketeering lawsuit

In June 2022, Musk, Tesla, and other companies lead by him were listed as defendants in a class action lawsuit claiming they participated in a pyramid scheme around the price of
Dogecoin Dogecoin ( or , Abbreviation: DOGE; sign: Ð) is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a "joke", making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the ...
. Damages were listed at $258 billion.


Deceptive Autopilot and Full Self-Driving advertising

In September 2022, a proposed class action federal lawsuit was filed against Tesla for allegedly misleading customers "who since 2016 bought or leased Tesla vehicles with Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features."


Resolved


Fisker Automotive

On April 14, 2008, Tesla sued
Fisker Automotive Fisker Automotive was an American company known for producing the Fisker Karma, which was one of the world's first production luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. It debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and first ...
, alleging that
Henrik Fisker Henrik Fisker (born 10 August 1963) is a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for designing luxury cars including the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Fisker Karma, ...
"stole design ideas and confidential information related to the design of hybrid and electric cars" and was using that information to develop the
Fisker Karma The Fisker Karma is a luxury plug-in range-extended electric sports sedan produced by Fisker Automotive in 2012. The cars were manufactured at Valmet Automotive in Finland. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rated th ...
. Tesla had hired
Fisker Coachbuild Fisker Coachbuild was a car design firm based in Orange County, California. The company produced custom luxury cars. It produced the Tramonto and Latigo CS. It also designed and manufactured aftermarket parts such as aluminum alloy wheels, ...
to design the WhiteStar sedan, but rejected the design that Musk considered "substandard". On November 3, 2008, Fisker Automotive Inc. issued a press release indicating that an arbitrator had issued an interim award finding in Fisker's favor on all claims.


''Top Gear'' review

Tesla unsuccessfully sued British television show ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' for its 2008 review of the
Tesla Roadster (2008) The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car, based on the Lotus Elise chassis, that was produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) in California from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster was the first highway ...
in which
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
could be seen driving one around the ''Top Gear'' test track, complaining about a range of only , before showing workers pushing it into the garage, supposedly out of charge. Tesla filed a lawsuit against the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
for libel and malicious falsehood, claiming that two cars were provided and that at any point, at least one was ready to drive. Paradoxically, the range of 55 mi was calculated by Tesla itself and supplied to Top Gear as an estimate of the car's range. In addition, Tesla said that neither car ever dropped below 25% charge, and that the scene was staged. However, Top Gear frequently stages scenes for comedic effect, for example by showing Jeremy Clarkson having to refuel the
Jaguar XJS The Jaguar XJ-S (later called XJS) is a luxury grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British car manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1975 to 1996, in coupé, fixed-profile and full convertible bodystyles. There were three distinct iterations, w ...
three times during the review of it. The High Court in London rejected Tesla's libel claim. The falsehood claims were later struck out.


Founder dispute

The company founding was the subject of a lawsuit that was later dropped after an out-of-court settlement. On May 26, 2009, Eberhard filed suit against Tesla and Musk for slander, libel and breach of contract. Musk wrote a lengthy blog post that included original source documents, including emails between senior executives and other artifacts attempting to demonstrate that Eberhard was fired by Tesla's unanimous board of directors. Alt URL A judge struck down Eberhard's claim that he was one of only two company founders. Tesla said in a statement that the ruling is "consistent with Tesla's belief in a team of founders, including the company's current CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk, and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, who were both fundamental to the creation of Tesla from inception." Eberhard withdrew the case and the parties reached a final settlement. One public provision said that the parties will consider Eberhard, Musk, Straubel, Tarpenning and Wright to be the five co-founders. Eberhard issued a statement about Musk's foundational role in the company: "As a co-founder of the company, Elon's contributions to Tesla have been extraordinary."


Ecotricity agreement

In early 2014, Tesla reportedly tried to break the exclusivity agreement their charging partner in the UK had for locations along the UK's highways and tried to "blacken Ecotricity's name with politicians and the media".
Ecotricity Ecotricity is a British energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, specialising in selling green energy to consumers that it primarily generates from its 87.2 megawatt wind power portfoliothe company prefers the term windmill ra ...
replied by taking an injunction against them. The dispute was resolved
out of court In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in ...
.


Securities litigation relating to SolarCity's financial statements and guidance

On March 28, 2014, a purported stockholder class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against SolarCity and two of its officers. The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws and seeks unspecified compensatory damages and other relief on behalf of a purported class of purchasers of SolarCity's securities from March 6, 2013, to March 18, 2014. On March 8, 2018, the Court upheld the District Court ruling of dismissal and judgment in Tesla's favor. The case is concluded. Tesla was also party to a lawsuit filed in July 2018, alleging that SolarCity improperly fired three employees who blew the whistle on fraudulent sales records at the company. On June 5, 2020, the lawsuit was dismissed
with prejudice Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings. ...
.


Illegal workers suit

''
The Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
'' in 2016 investigated the use of foreign construction workers to build Tesla's paint shop at Tesla Factory. A
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
federal lawsuit was filed, which was unsealed in the summer of 2017. The suit alleged that Tesla and other major automakers such as
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
, BMW and
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...
, illegally used foreign construction workers to build their U.S. factories. Court documents and the journalistic investigation showed that at least 140 foreign workers worked on the factory expansion, some of whom had questionable work visas, for as little as five dollars per hour. The workers came mainly from
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
on "suspect visas hired through subcontractors." On March 20, 2019, a decision by the United States District Court in San Jose dismissed most claims. The parties entered into a confidential settlement on January 17, 2020, and , the court retained jurisdiction to enforce compliance of the terms.


Singapore tax surcharge

In early March 2016, a report by '' Stuff magazine'' said that test performed by VICOM, Ltd on behalf of Singapore's Land Transport Authority had found a 2014 Tesla Model S to be consuming , which was greater than the reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the reported by Tesla. As a result, a carbon surcharge of ( at March 2016 exchange rate) was imposed on the Model S, making Singapore the only country in the world to impose an environmental surcharge on a fully electric car. The Land Transport Authority justified this by stating that it had to "account for emissions during the electricity generation process" and therefore "a grid emission factor of 0.5g/watt-hour was also applied to the electric energy consumption", however Tesla countered that when the energy used to extract, refine, and distribute gasoline was taken into account, the Model S produces approximately one-third the of an equivalent gasoline-powered vehicle. Later that month, the Land Transport Authority released a statement stating that they and the VICOM Emission Test Laboratory will be working with Tesla engineers to review the test, and a Tesla statement indicated that the discussions were "positive" and that they were confident of a quick resolution. , consumers can order a new Tesla to be imported into Singapore, for delivery in mid-2021, with no mention of a surcharge. , Teslas sold in Singapore increased ten-fold to 487 in the third quarter, compared to just 50 in the first half of 2021.


Workplace harassment

One female engineer at Tesla filed a lawsuit in 2016 describing a culture of "pervasive harassment". The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in 2019.


Corporate litigation relating to the SolarCity acquisition

Between September 1, 2016, and October 5, 2016, seven
lawsuits - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...
were filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware challenging Tesla's acquisition of
SolarCity SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...
. In October 2016, the Court consolidated the actions and appointed a lead plaintiff. The plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the Tesla board of directors as then constituted breached their fiduciary duties in approving the acquisition and that certain individuals would be unjustly enriched by the acquisition. The complaint asserts both derivative claims and direct claims on behalf of a purported class and seeks, among other relief, $13 billion from Elon Musk. The acquisition was approved by Tesla and SolarCity's stockholders on November 17, 2016 and the merger closed on November 21, 2016. On October 24, 2019, the transcripts of video depositions of Elon Musk and other SolarCity board members became widely available. The trial was held in July 2021. On October 22, 2021, the lawsuit was limited to a derivative lawsuit and the direct claims against Musk were dismissed. The court ruled in Musk's favor in April 2022, but an appeal has been entered.


SEC investigations in 2016 regarding GAAP reporting

An SEC investigation in October 2016 about Tesla's use of non-GAAP (
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Publicly traded companies typically are subject to rigorous standards. Small and midsized businesses often follow more simplified standards, plus any specific disclosures required by their specific lenders and shareholders. Some firms operate on th ...
) reporting closed "without further action"; Tesla switched to GAAP-reporting in October 2016.


Autopilot 2 class-action lawsuit

On April 19, 2017, Tesla owners filed a class-action lawsuit due to Tesla exaggerating the capabilities of its Autopilot 2 to consumers. The lawsuit claimed that "buyers of the affected vehicles have become beta testers of half-baked software that renders Tesla vehicles dangerous if engaged". Tesla attacked the lawsuit as a "disingenuous attempt to secure attorney's fees posing as a legitimate legal action". On May 19, 2018, Tesla reached an agreement to settle the class-action lawsuit. Under the agreement, class members, who paid to get the Autopilot upgrade between 2016 and 2017, will receive between US$20 and $280 in compensation. Tesla has agreed to place more than $5 million into a settlement fund, which will also cover attorney fees. The proposed settlement does not mention the safety allegations but focuses on the delay in making the promised features available to consumers. The agreement was approved in November 2018.


Union busting attempts

On April 19, 2017, Tesla factory workers filed unfair labor practice charges with the
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Na ...
, alleging that Tesla uses "illegal surveillance, coercion, intimidation and prevention of worker communications ..in an effort to prevent or otherwise hinder unionization of the Fremont factory." According to
CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, "the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union filed four separate charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that
esla Esla or ESLA can refer to: * Əşlə, Azerbaijani municipality * Esla river The Esla is a river in the provinces of León and Zamora in the northwest of Spain. It is a tributary of the Duero River that starts in the Cantabrian Mountains and i ...
has illegally surveilled and coerced workers attempting to distribute information about the union drive." On February 10, 2017, three Tesla employees allegedly were passing out literature to initiate organizing union efforts. The literature pointed to working conditions, the company's
confidentiality agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
and employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The UAW's charges allege that Tesla illegally told employees that they could not pass out any literature unless it was approved by the company. The Fremont plant has been unionized in the past, both when owned by General Motors (GM), and later by the
NUMMI New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an American automobile manufacturing company in Fremont, California, jointly owned by General Motors and Toyota that opened in 1984 and closed in 2010. After the plant was closed by its owners, th ...
partnership of GM and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
. While under UAW oversight, the plant closed once in 1982 (GM) and again in 2010 (NUMMI partnership) . In May 2018, the
United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...
union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking a federal investigation against Tesla for CEO Elon Musk's tweet apparently threatening worker stock options if they joined a union. Tesla responded that other car makers don't offer such stock options to union workers. Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison chastised Musk for "threats" of unlawful retaliation and presented a list of questions on union activities and worker safety records, asking for a response by June 15. In September 2019, a California judge ruled that 12 actions by Musk and other Tesla executives violated labor laws in 2017 and 2018 when they sabotaged employee attempts to unionize.


Securities litigation relating to production of Model 3 vehicles

In 2017, a lawsuit alleged Tesla made materially false and misleading statements regarding its preparedness to produce Model 3 vehicles. The
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
also began an investigation in 2018 into whether Tesla misled investors and misstated production figures about its Model 3 car. The lawsuit was dismissed in Tesla's favor in March 2019.


Reselling "lemon" cars

In 2018, Tesla was accused of reselling defective "
lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
" cars in the U.S.; Tesla denied the claim. On December 11, 2018, the case was ordered to arbitration. In March 2022, the case was dismissed by the court. In Norway in 2018, Tesla buyers have gone to court with the claim that they had been sold cars with defects, and Tesla bought back the car.


Software copyright infringement

In May 2018, it was reported that Tesla had for five or six years been using other people's copyrighted software unlawfully, specifically engaging in GPL violations. The Software Freedom Conservancy reportedly alerted Tesla to the issue repeatedly, but only in 2018 did Tesla begin to remedy its non-compliance with the software's license terms.


Martin Tripp leak and hacking

In June 2018, Tesla employee Martin Tripp leaked information that Tesla was scrapping or reworking up to 40% of its raw materials at the Nevada Gigafactory. Tripp was fired after allegedly confessing. On June 20, 2018, Tesla filed a civil lawsuit in Nevada against Tripp, accusing him of hacking the automaker and supplying sensitive information to unnamed third parties. Tripp then filed a lawsuit against Tesla and claimed Tesla's Security team gave police a false tip that he was planning a mass shooting at the Nevada factory. By June 27, 2018, Tesla had been granted subpoenas compelling several companies that may be storing data for the former employee, including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Dropbox to surrender any such data. Also in late June 2018, the ex-employee reacted by attempting to crowd-fund $500,000 for his legal defense and counter-suit. The court ruled in Tesla's favor on September 17, 2020.


Whistleblower allegations and retaliation

In June 2018, former Tesla high-level safety official Carlos Ramirez sued the company for failing to treat injured workers and misclassifying worker injuries to avoid reporting them to authorities. Ramirez alleged that he was fired by Tesla in retaliation for raising concerns about these practices. In October 2018, the case was ordered to arbitration, and the case was closed in August 2021. In August 2018, former Tesla employee Karl Hansen filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC alleging that Tesla failed to disclose an alleged drug trafficking ring at the Nevada Gigafactory "involving the sale of significant quantities of cocaine and possibly crystal methamphetamine" for a Mexican drug cartel. Hansen also accused Tesla of spying on employees and hiding the theft of $37 million worth of copper and other raw materials. Hansen alleged that he was retaliated against and wrongfully terminated by Tesla for raising these issues internally. In 2019, Hansen filed a lawsuit related to these allegations; in 2020, the judged ordered the case to arbitration. In June 2022, the arbitrator filed an unopposed motion with the court stating Hansen "has failed to establish the claims...Accordingly his claims are denied, and he shall take nothing".


Investigation and settlement by DOJ and SEC of Musk "funding secured" tweet

In September 2018, the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
(DOJ) began investigating Tesla based on a tweet sent out by Elon Musk. In the tweet, Musk stated that he was "considering taking Tesla private", and that he had "funding secured" to complete the deal. Musk's announcement came as a surprise to shareholders, and consequently the company's stock price rose by almost 11 percent; 17 days later, Musk said the proposal was dead. DOJ investigators requested company documents in September related to Musk's announcement, and the company complied with the requests. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched its own investigation into Tesla and Musk as well. The volatile stock price movement resulted in multiple shareholder lawsuits. On October 16, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment approving the terms of a settlement filed with the Court on September 29, 2018, in connection with the actions taken by the SEC relating to Musk's prior statement that he was considering taking Tesla private. Without admitting or denying any of the SEC's allegations, and with no restriction on Musk's ability to serve as an officer or director on the board (other than as its chair), among other things, Tesla and Musk paid civil penalties of $20 million each and agreed that an independent director will serve as chair of the board for at least three years.


Employee theft of Autopilot source code

In 2019 Tesla filed a lawsuit against a named employee alleging that the employee who had worked for Tesla for two years had copied the source code of the
Tesla Autopilot Tesla Autopilot is a suite of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) features offered by Tesla that amounts to SAE International Level 2 vehicle automation. Its features are lane centering, traffic-aware cruise control, automatic lane ch ...
before joining a competing startup. In April 2021 Tesla settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed payment from the former employee.


Child labor lawsuit


Berry discrimination case

In July 2021, former employee Melvin Berry was awarded $1 million in his discrimination case in arbitration against Tesla. Supervisors had referred to Berry using a racial slur, and retaliated against him when he complained.


Diaz discrimination case

In October 2021 a jury verdict in the Owen Diaz vs. Tesla trial awarded the plaintiff $137 million in damages after he faced racial harassment at Tesla's Fremont facility during 2015–2016. In April 2022, federal judge William Orrick upheld the jury finding of Tesla's liability but reduced the award to $15 million. Tesla had sought to limit the amount to $600,000.


See also

* Lawsuits and controversies section on Tesla, Inc. * Criticism of Tesla, Inc.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tesla, Inc. lawsuits Tesla, Inc.