Tesla Inc. sued a former engineer with the corporate’s extremely secretive Optimus program, accusing him of stealing confidential details about the humanoid robotic and organising a rival startup in Silicon Valley.
Zhongjie “Jay” Li labored at Tesla between August 2022 and September 2024, in keeping with a grievance filed in a San Francisco Federal Courtroom late Wednesday. Li labored on “advanced robotic hand sensors—and was entrusted with some of the most sensitive technical data in the program,” Tesla’s legal professionals mentioned within the grievance.
The swimsuit, additionally filed in opposition to his firm Proception Inc, alleges that within the weeks earlier than his departure, Li downloaded Optimus-related recordsdata onto two private smartphones after which shaped his personal agency.
“Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,” in keeping with the grievance. “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.”
Li, who lists himself as founder and CEO of Proception on LinkedIn, didn’t reply to requests for remark despatched outdoors of regular working hours on the platform. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to an emailed message in search of remark or message despatched by means of its web site. Proception is predicated in Palo Alto, California.
Attorneys for Li or the corporate weren’t instantly seen in court docket filings.
Making a hand that’s as dexterous as a human one is without doubt one of the greatest challenges in robotics. Tesla intends for Optimus to carry out a number of duties, from working within the electrical automaker’s factories to dealing with day-after-day duties like grocery buying and babysitting. On Tesla’s earnings name in January, CEO Elon Musk mentioned that Optimus has essentially the most subtle hand ever made.
“My prediction long-term is that Optimus will be overwhelmingly the value of the company,” Musk mentioned.
An exhibit to the grievance consists of an emailed reminder to the Optimus staff from August 2024 telling employees that Tesla IT property and networks are monitored and that “incidents of mishandling or suspected theft of Tesla property, including data and code, will be thoroughly investigated.”
Li’s “conduct is not only unlawful trade misappropriation — it also constitutes a calculated effort to exploit Tesla’s investments, insights, and intellectual property for their own commercial gain,” Tesla’s legal professionals mentioned within the submitting.
Milan Kovac, the top of engineering for Optimus, left Tesla final week, Bloomberg first reported. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s Autopilot groups, will take over accountability for Optimus.
Learn extra: Tesla’s Head of Optimus Humanoid Robotic Program Exits Firm
The case is Tesla, Inc. v. Proception, Inc. et al, Docket No. 5:25-cv-04963 (N.D. Cal. Jun 11, 2025), Courtroom Docket
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
