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by JumpCrisscross 2906 days ago
> currently being sued by Tesla

Suing him after firing him was probably an immature overreaction on Tesla's part. It forced the former employee into a more-aggressive posture. Better strategy would have been (a) suing competitors he gave information to (if any) and (b) nudging a local DA to press criminal charges.
2 comments
Klathmon 2906 days ago
Immature overreaction? He alledgedly stole company secrets and gave them to others in a way that framed other employees at the company, and would continue to run after he left.

Assuming those charges are true, why would it be an overreaction to sue the person who did it!? That to me is the only valid reaction. This person is accused of knowingly purposefully trying to harm Tesla and help competition.

The only way this would be an overreaction is if Tesla really is guilty of doing illegal things. And in that case going to a DA would be the worst idea.

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JumpCrisscross 2906 days ago
> why would it be an overreaction to sue the person who did it!? That to me is the only valid reaction

There are three reasons to sue: (1) as a deterrent, (2) to get an injunction and/or (3) to recover financial damages.

The former employee appears broke, so (3) goes out of the window. (2) is a possibility, but mitigated given he already shared the data. As for (1), unemployment + threatened criminal charges would do as much work.

Now let's look at the downsides. Tesla has Streisand effected this former employee's claims. The lawsuit will bankrupt the former employee if he can't show whistleblower status. That incentivises him to double down. At the same time, the public attention incentivises the SEC to look closer. Even without any wrongdoing, that attention is time consuming and costly.

If all this employee did was share with journalists and the SEC, the lawsuit could become a PR problem. Even if Tesla prevails, it will have dragged itself into an expensive distraction.

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koonsolo 2906 days ago
You are forgetting the upside that the next guy who will try to pull this stunt, will know that Tesla will not just let it slip away.
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threeseed 2906 days ago
> He alledgedly stole company secrets and gave them to others

Is there any evidence he gave them to competitors or did anything other than act as a whistleblower ?

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asdsa5325 2906 days ago
(a) assumes that competitors took the information knowing that it came from Tesla. And civil lawsuits can be done whether or not charges are being pressed. A lawsuit is not immature at all. He damaged the company.
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