Tesla CEO responds to lawsuit from former CEO
Tesla Motors Chairman and CEO Elon Musk
(Credit: Tesla Motors)The legal battle and war of words between two Tesla Motors CEOs are heating up.
Current Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk responded in a lengthy company blog on Monday to a lawsuit charging libel and breach of contract from former CEO Martin Eberhard. In his blog, Musk dismisses Eberhard's claim that Eberhard was responsible for many of Tesla's key achievements, one of the key points of the suit.
Among other comments, Musk writes: "The facts are that when I requested through AC Propulsion to meet Eberhard, he had no technology of his own, he did not have a prototype car and he owned no intellectual property relating to electric cars. All he had was a business plan to commercialize the AC Propulsion Tzero electric sports car concept. Three years later, when Eberhard was asked to leave Tesla, most of the work that he had been paid to do had to be redone."
The battle started when Eberhard filed suit again Musk and Tesla, alleging that Musk was trying to "rewrite history" by taking credit for key accomplishments behind Tesla Motors.
Electric car maker Tesla has been in legal waters before. Last November, the company lost a lawsuit against Fisker Automotive, alleging that Fisker had stolen trade secrets. Last July, former Public Relations Director David Vespremi filed a suit, which was dismissed, against Tesla saying the company violated his terms of employment.
In the wake of layoffs and canceled orders, Tesla has been busy trying to drum up cash to fund its development and manufacturing. The company has applied for a Department of Energy loan to finance construction of a factory.
Corrected at 2:15 p.m. PDT: This article initially misstated the status of Tesla's loan application to the Department of Energy. It has applied for a DOE loan but has not yet received it.
Lance Whitney wears a few different technology hats--journalist, Web developer, and software trainer. He's a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. You can follow Lance on Twitter at @lancewhit. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET. 
Not to mention at $10 a gallon for gas Tesla's overpriced electric cars would be easier to sell right?????
Of course if he were having to pay for the long term effects/disposal of the hundreds of tiny batteries in each one of his cars the company would really be in trouble.
is hardly surprised by this lawsuit. Musk can be dismissed as an amatuer automaker using slipshod parts tpo create what appears to be a very electrically unreliable concoction. With over 6700 flashlight
batteries, everyone who has ever dealt with small format batteries knows the problems with connectivity
reliability. Imagine trying to keep 6700 all connected. The Tesla is a clas action lawsuit waiting to happen. And happen it will. Tesla could also be accused of fraudulent advertising about the batteries, which they lead one to believe will last 10 years of normal driving, but which are guaranteed for only 3 years. So what gives? Where is Tesla telling the lie? And how much does it cost tio replace the battery pack 5 years from now? $30,000? $40,000.? Tesla ain't saying and thus is hiding a very important fact about their car. For all these and other reasons, I can see Tesla Corporation in court in the not too distant future. And they havn't got a prayer. Musk as a witness can be torn to shreds - using his own public statements and rants, which clearly show him to be an erratic type.
- by 2centsbook July 14, 2009 10:00 AM PDT
- I'm excited about electric cars news but tired of hearing about Tesla Motors- until they start producing cheaper models. For electric cars to be serious contenders, they need to be mid-priced economy vehicles that most households can by with tax incentives etc. According to new reports, up to 1/3 of cars buyers want to go electric- which would reduce oil dependency, green house emissions, foreign oil dependency, health care costs, and create jobs. For more information about electric cars, I suggest checking out the website http://www.twocentspermile.com or http://www.bit.ly/2centspermile
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