Tesla (TSLA) Sues Ex-Engineer Over Alleged Theft of Robot Tech

Author's Avatar
Jun 12, 2025
Article's Main Image

Tesla (TSLA, Financial) has filed a lawsuit against a former engineer from its Optimus humanoid robot team, accusing him of stealing confidential information to start a competing venture. The lawsuit, submitted to a federal court in San Francisco, claims that Jay Li, who was employed from August 2022 to September 2024, downloaded files related to the Optimus project using two personal mobile devices.

According to Tesla, within a week of his departure, Jay Li established a company named Proception. Tesla alleges that Proception's mechanical arm product bears a striking resemblance to its own technology.

Disclosures

I/We may personally own shares in some of the companies mentioned above. However, those positions are not material to either the company or to my/our portfolios.