Tesla Sues Ex-Engineer Over Alleged Theft of Robotics Trade Secrets

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against a former engineer for allegedly stealing trade secrets and designs from its humanoid robotics program, Optimus. The engineer allegedly used this information to launch his own rival startup.

The lawsuit, filed this week in a California federal court, alleges that Zhongjie "Jay" Li, a former Optimus engineer, misappropriated secrets tied to Tesla's work on "advanced robotic hand sensors" to found Proception, a robotic hand startup backed by Y Combinator. Bloomberg first reported the case.

The lawsuit states that Li worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024. Just days after resigning from the Austin-based electric automaker, he founded Proception.

In the days and even hours leading up to his departure, Tesla claims that Li downloaded confidential design files — including blueprints, source code and testing data all related to the company's robotic hand tech — on two separate personal smartphones. Tesla also alleges that Li researched humanoid robotic hands using his work computer and made searches related to venture capital and startup funding.

"Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated," the complaint stated. "And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have 'successfully built' advanced humanoid robotic hands — hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla."

Included in the complaint is an August 2024 email reminder to Optimus employees saying that Tesla IT assets and networks are monitored and "incidents of mishandling or suspected theft of Tesla property, including data and code, will be thoroughly investigated." Tesla's lawyers allege in the filing that Li's actions were "a calculated effort to exploit Tesla’s investments, insights, and intellectual property for their own commercial gain."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk first introduced the idea of a humanoid robot from the company back in 2021, with an initial prototype unveiling a year later.

Tesla envisions Optimus robots performing tasks from factory work to everyday chores like grocery shopping. Musk has claimed Optimus will significantly contribute to Tesla’s value, featuring what he calls one of the most sophisticated human-like robotic hands. Despite setbacks, such as missing its 2023 release goal, Optimus remains in development.

Musk has stated he anticipates sales beginning in 2026. However, as of October 2024, during Tesla’s "We, Robot" event, the robots were still primarily controlled by humans remotely.