[Someone1234]

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.

[rory096]

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.

[icelancer]

>> 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.