If we take the complaint at face value, it seems like a straightforward description. Tripp is alleged to have installed software on other employees’ computers to extract the information.
Also, giving information to the media isn’t necessarily an honest act of whistleblowing. Depends on what you’re exposing and if it’s accurate in the first place.
If he genuinely believes what he is saying is true (i.e. potentially dangerous batteries in Model 3's) then I'd say that is absolutely an honest act of whistleblowing.
But that's the rub, does he believe that or not, or was it as Tesla contends a lie to hurt an employer that passed him over for promotion? The court case is definitely one to watch, particularly if he can provide evidence of his claims.
As I understand it, genuine protected whistleblowing would require a report to the appropriate regulatory body. Disclosing a substantial amount of proprietary non-safety-related information would also tend to undermine the case for protection.
>> If he genuinely believes what he is saying is true (i.e. potentially dangerous batteries in Model 3's) then I'd say that is absolutely an honest of whistleblowing.
Whistleblowing is not simply just telling random people, or media contacts, inner workings of companies that are protected and trade secrets. That's not how that works. There are specific ways to do it to protect yourself legally, or you can leak to Wikileaks or media outlets using TOR and other methods to keep yourself safe, but the latter method is illegal while the former method is legal, if not nearly as effective.
True, it's straightforward, but knowing Musk's penchant for playing the media, it does come off as an attempt to liken this event to the Uber/Waymo affair. Which is not a fitting comparison.
Munro & Associates did a complete Tesla 3 teardown and disassembly in order to sell what they've learned to Tesla competitors for hundreds of thousands of dollars (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpCrkO1x-Qo&t=4828s)
> Daimler (parent of Mercedes) reportedly rented Model X and disassembled it to learn how it works.
> Apparently there are plenty of companies interested in how Tesla's cars are made.
Disassembing a rental car is ..uh.. rude, but other than that this is completely ordinary, and not even done in secret.
When I worked at BMW, we once went down to a big room where an entire VW (Golf?) was disassembled and on display, all its components laid out on long rows of tables.
I can't remember any access restrictions on that room -- it was just a place you went to look at how other engineers had solved particular problems, learn new tricks, or get inspired.
It's essentially the code reading of the mechanical engineering world.
Disassembling competitor cars is a standard practice and every car maker does it to all their most important competitors. Tesla is not special in this regard.
I think, if I'm following the media reporting correctly, that they're disputing something which he didn't technically say. The BI article says that "In February, a misprogrammed robot that handles battery modules repeatedly punctured through the plastic housing (called a clamshell) and into some battery cells, the employee said, adding that instead of scrapping all the modules, some were fixed with adhesive and put back on the manufacturing line". That is, the modules were fixed and reused rather than being scrapped.
Tesla claims this is a lie because no punctured cells were ever used in vehicles. This would be true even if - as the article claims - modules were punctured, the battery cells were damaged, and those modules were fixed and put into cars rather than being scrapped, just so long as any obviously punctured cells were replaced in the process. The article is rather vague on that crucial detail. In fact, Tesla's claim would be true even if damaged cells were shipping in actual Model 3s and they knew they were, so long as those cells weren't punctured.
It also conveniently plays on the public's perception that a punctured battery cell is a terrible thing.
In reality, a lithium ion cell with a small hole will slowly have the electrolyte evaporate, the internal resistance will increase, and the cell will stop being useful. If that's one cell out of 10,000 on a car, it's no big deal.
Also, giving information to the media isn’t necessarily an honest act of whistleblowing. Depends on what you’re exposing and if it’s accurate in the first place.