Tesla has sued the former director of its Autopilot program suggesting that he stole confidential information from the automaker to use in his own startup.
The company alleges that Sterling Anderson stole company information and intended on using it for a new autonomous car venture, Aurora Innovation, he founded with Chris Urmson, the former head of Google’s self-driving project.
In the lawsuit, Tesla asks for a court order to stop Anderson, Urmson and Aurora Innovation from hiring any Tesla employees and contractors from one year after Anderson left the electric carmaker. Additionally, the firm wants an order to block the use of its proprietary information for autonomous driving systems.
The suit goes on to specify that Anderson downloaded “hundreds of gigabytes of Tesla’s confidential and proprietary information” onto a personal hard drive and intended on using it for his own autonomous startup.
While speaking with Bloomberg however, Anderson viciously denied the accusations saying “Tesla’s meritless lawsuit reveals both a startling paranoia and an unhealthy fear of competition.
“This abuse of the legal system is a malicious attempt to stifle a competitor and destroy personal reputations. Aurora looks forward to disproving these false allegations in court and to building a successful self-driving business,” he said.
Alongside seeking injunctive relief barring any Tesla employees joining Aurora, Tesla is seeking compensatory damages for prejudgement interest and any other relief the court may deem acceptable.
PHOTO GALLERY
