Tesla has also recently thrown the gauntlet down in a legal fight with Zhongjie “Jay” Li, one-time engineer. They horror him of taking trade secrets line to the pattern of all high robot hand sensors. By October 2024, a first-ever lawsuit was brought against Li. It accuses him of illegally downloading sensitive Tesla data while in Tesla’s employ, then using that data to launch his own competing venture, Proception.
Li’s employment at Tesla lasted from August 2022 until Sept. 2024. During his final months at the company, he reportedly conducted extensive research on humanoid robotic hands using his workplace computer. Odyssey’s subsequent investigation found that Li had copied confidential information related to Tesla’s new Optimus project onto two personal iPhones. This data supposedly contained information about Tesla’s new and improved sensors on their advanced robotic hand, an important area Tesla was believed to be researching.
Improvements
In the weeks leading up to his departure from Tesla, Li began scouring the internet for knowledge about venture capital. He sampled different types of startup funding. Less than a week after departing Tesla, he brought Proception to fruition. This new company, just emerged from Y Combinator, is focused on producing the best robotic hand. Under five months after its establishment, Proception made headlines declaring that it had “successfully constructed” cutting-edge humanoid robotic hands.
Issues were raised with Proception’s robotic hands designs. They look almost identical to the prototypes that Li created during his time at Tesla. This likeness has led to a lot of speculation that Li used Tesla’s trade secrets to strengthen his new business.
“advanced robotic hand sensors” – source: the lawsuit
According to Proception’s website, its mission is to “revolutionize human-robot interaction by creating the world’s most advanced humanoid hands.” This very ambitious target dovetails nicely with the technologies that Tesla has been working to create themselves through their own initiatives.
Tesla’s lawsuit highlights these allegations as a significant breach of trust and confidentiality, asserting that Li’s actions not only undermined the company’s competitive edge but contravened the ethical standards expected of its employees.
“successfully built” – source: the complaint
The dispute underscores important issues around IP rights and the future of innovation in the technology space. This is particularly the case in dynamic fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence. From what we’ve seen, Tesla is doing everything it can to protect its innovations. The result of this case will establish critical precedents for any future business trade secret and employee-misconduct disputes.