
Tesla sues its alleged saboteur for $167M - toufiqbarhamov
https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/12/tesla-seeks-167-million-damages-saboteur/
======
Simulacra
I don't think it's an unrealistic number. The guy hacked the system and
downloaded information, distributing that which caused the stock price to dip.
Tesla has a definitive loss. What that exact number is could be up to debate,
but just because the defendant is a person instead of a company does not
diminish the level of damage done to Tesla.

~~~
bildung
_> distributing that which caused the stock price to dip. Tesla has a
definitive loss._

How did a stock price dip cause a loss to Tesla?

~~~
thebluehawk
For starters, it affects how easily they could raise cash by borrowing money,
during a time when they desperately needed capitol.

~~~
microtherion
The problem with that legal theory is that Musk insisted at that time that
Tesla did NOT plan to raise capital: [https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/tesla-
ceo-elon-musk-continue...](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/tesla-ceo-elon-
musk-continues-to-say-he-has-no-plans-to-raise-capital.html)

~~~
DSingularity
Perhaps that was decided because it was costly?

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jsight
I've wondered for a bit as to why they chose such an unrealistic number. Maybe
because they knew this would bait the media into reporting on it again, now
that his "whistleblower" case has effectively fallen apart?

~~~
sgc
Partially, but also just to indicate what they perceive to be the real damage
from his actions, so that in the future people can evaluate if their personal
vendettas are worth the harm they cause. (Of course I see the irony given
recent history at the company, but future deterrence is a large motivator for
many lawsuits).

~~~
nitrogen
Isn't the use of a lawsuit to deter speaking out illegal (SLAPP)?

~~~
SpicyLemonZest
This is a federal case, and there's no federal anti-SLAPP law.

Even in states which have anti-SLAPP laws, they target _frivolous_ lawsuits to
deter speaking out. If you really do have a case, but part of your motivation
for bringing it is to deter future misconduct, that's perfectly kosher.

~~~
gamblor956
Anti-SLAPP law in California is not limited to frivolous lawsuits...

The whole point of the Anti-SLAPP statutes is to discourage companies from
using lawsuits to "deter future misconduct." It provides, at a minimum, that
the company pay all the defendant's legal costs and the complete dismissal of
the company's case with prejudice (which usually means all of the related
claims filed in the same lawsuit, though on rare occasions the company may be
allowed to split off those claims into a separate case).

~~~
SpicyLemonZest
As long as the plaintiff can establish "there is a probability that the
plaintiff will prevail on the claim", the anti-SLAPP statue doesn't apply. It
doesn't matter at that point why they filed the lawsuit.

~~~
gamblor956
Right, the plaintiff needs to show prima facie evidence of all elements of
their claims in order to defeat an Anti-SLAPP motion.

Unless Tesla has been concealing some facts in its court filings, they don't
have prima facie evidence of all elements of their claims. Anti-SLAPP motions
can precede the discovery phase, i.e., before Tesla can acquire that evidence.
Moreover, unlike TV, such evidence must be presented in court filings. Ambush
disclosures aren't a thing in real life.

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sytelus
Musk/Tripp email exchanges:

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
switch/wp/2018/06/21...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-
switch/wp/2018/06/21/saboteur-or-whistleblower-battle-between-elon-musk-and-
former-tesla-employee-turns-ugly-exposing-internal-rancor/)

------
woodandsteel
I think Tesla is suing Mills for several reasons. One is to discourage
activity it thinks is sabotage and slander. Secondly it wants to do discovery
to discover if he was working for someone who wanted to undermine Tesla, like
a stock shorter or a fossil fuel or automotive company, who it would then sue
next. And I am guessing it is also a preparation for another suit against the
sleazy media company that published his claims, again to see if one of the
above enemies was behind it.

As for the $167 million claim, the idea is not to get the money from Mills,
which Tesla is perfectly aware is impossible. Rather it is to set the value
for a later lawsuit, and also to let people know it is serious about defending
itself.

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DoubleCribble
What did he whistleblow on exactly? That car manufacturing is dirty? That
parts of the vehicle get dinged & scratched and are still used? What is the
revelation here?

~~~
NullPrefix
Did he actually whistleblow?

Whistleblowers leak either to general public or regulators. From the article
it sounds like the data went to some private 3rd party. Correct me if I'm
wrong.

~~~
rightbyte
"The former employee, who used to work as a process engineer at Tesla's
Gigafactory, filed a complaint of his own with the Securities and Exchange
Commission in June. He accused Tesla of making 'material omissions and
misstatements' to investors as well as of putting cars with safety issues on
the road."

He did whistle-blow according to the article. According to another article he
denies dumping data. [https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/15/martin-tripp-tesla-
tweet...](https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/15/martin-tripp-tesla-tweets/)

~~~
eduah
His own lawyers have abandoned him on these claims and he is now having to
represent himself in the whistle blower case

~~~
random314
I can't find any information on online to corroborate what you are saying. Can
you share a link?

This article from yesterday indicates that he has attorney representation
[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/...](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.zdnet.com/google-
amp/article/tesla-is-suing-martin-tripp-alleged-saboteur-
for-167-million/&ved=2ahUKEwjTl72hiJzfAhWMFXwKHc2YBy8QFjAKegQICRAB&usg=AOvVaw3TKkeW4E-2VzfSHFFiHnur&ampcf=1)

~~~
eduah
> Tripp was represented by Meissner Associates in the whistleblower matter
> earlier, but is now representing himself, attorney Stuart Meissner told
> CNBC.

[https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/11/tesla-seeks-167-million-
in-d...](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/11/tesla-seeks-167-million-in-damages-
from-ex-employee-martin-tripp.html)

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leowoo91
Who would be best to track such incidents within the company? IT department or
SecOps?

~~~
wil421
The security group should respond and manage the incident while working with
their IT counterparts to fix the systems that were exposed.

