Tesla has filed a federal lawsuit towards former worker Zhongjie ‘Jay’ Li and his startup, Proception Inc, accusing them of misappropriating commerce secrets and techniques associated to the corporate’s humanoid robotic challenge, Optimus. The swimsuit was filed Wednesday in a US District Court docket in San Francisco, ET Tech experiences.
In keeping with Tesla, Li, who labored on the EV large from August 2022 till September 2024, illegally transferred confidential design information to his private gadgets simply weeks earlier than resigning. Shortly thereafter, he included Proception Inc, which has since claimed speedy progress in humanoid robotics—notably in robotic hand growth.
Tesla Alleges Direct Copying of Proprietary Designs
The grievance alleges that Li transferred delicate information associated to Optimus onto two private smartphones throughout his last weeks at Tesla. Investigations additional revealed that Li had been trying to find “humanoid robotic palms” and startup funding alternatives on his Tesla-issued laptop computer.“Lower than every week after he left Tesla, Proception was included,” the corporate said in its submitting. “And inside simply 5 months, Proception publicly claimed to have ‘efficiently constructed’ superior humanoid robotic palms—palms that bear a hanging resemblance to the designs Li labored on at Tesla.”
The lawsuit asserts that Proception’s present robotic prototypes are unlawfully derived from Tesla’s proprietary work on Optimus, the corporate’s bold humanoid robotic challenge that Elon Musk has touted as a future cornerstone of Tesla’s AI portfolio.
The authorized motion follows a broader management transition inside Tesla’s Optimus workforce. Milan Kovac, vice chairman of engineering for Optimus, has stepped down from his function. He will likely be succeeded by Ashok Elluswamy, the present head of Tesla’s Autopilot engineering division, in line with Bloomberg.
Tesla has not commented publicly past the contents of the lawsuit, and Proception has but to challenge a proper response.
What’s at Stake
With humanoid robotics seen as a significant subsequent frontier in synthetic intelligence and automation, Tesla’s Optimus challenge holds strategic significance. The corporate has already showcased early-stage prototypes of Optimus and has positioned it as a possible game-changer throughout manufacturing, logistics, and even home use instances.
If Tesla’s claims show legitimate, the case may set a precedent within the extremely aggressive and fast-evolving humanoid robotics house, the place mental property and first-mover benefit are crucial.
