Tesla has recently filed a lawsuit against Zhongjie “Jay” Li, another former engineer. The company claims he stole trade secrets related to their cutting-edge robotic hand sensors. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit claims Li downloaded sensitive data related to Tesla’s humanoid robot initiative, Optimus. This was happening on two personal smartphones during his employment, between August 2022 and September 2024.
Li allegedly conducted research on his work computer regarding “humanoid robotic hands.” He did this even in the months leading up to his announced departure. Moreover, he allegedly searched online specifically for venture capital and other startup funding sources. Very soon after exiting Tesla, Li started his new venture, Proception. Y Combinator-backed Proception is developing next-generation pharmaceutical robotic hands. Significantly, Proception was founded less than a week after Li’s departure from Tesla.
Within five months of its launch, Proception announced it had “successfully developed” advanced humanoid robotic hands. The designs produced by Proception are nearly identical to the designs Li developed at Tesla. This striking similarity begs the question of where the technology actually comes from.
The lawsuit specifically highlights Li’s theft of trade secrets concerning Tesla’s “advanced robotic hand sensors.” The allegations suggest that Li’s actions were not only unethical but potentially damaging to Tesla’s competitive edge in the robotics sector.
Late last year, Elon Musk claimed that Tesla would begin selling the Optimus robot in 2026. This exciting development will be key to the company’s future direction. Meanwhile, Tesla is doing some remarkable and concerning things within the robotics innovation space. This lawsuit has the potential to greatly affect Li’s young startup, along with the entire connected and autonomous vehicle industry.
“We aim to revolutionize human-robot interaction by building the world’s most advanced humanoid hands.” – Proception’s website
Becca, a senior writer at TechCrunch who covers venture capital trends and startups, has been following the developments surrounding Proception. Needless to say, this case will make a huge splash. It has major legal ramifications and real implications for the fast-changing world of robotics.
