Tesla Sues EV-Battery Supplier Over Alleged Disclosure of Trade Secrets

Tesla has sued Matthews International, a supplier of electric-vehicle batteries, for allegedly disclosing its confidential trade secrets to other companies, including competitors.

According to the lawsuit, filed on Friday in the Northern District of California, Matthews breached its contract and allegedly improperly filed patent applications incorporating Tesla’s trade secrets without the electric-vehicle maker’s consent.

Matthews said that the claims are without merit and that it intends to defend itself against them. Matthews alleges that the lawsuit is intended to bully the company and “improperly take” its intellectual property.

Tesla said that, unless Matthews is enjoined from continuing its allegedly unlawful actions, Tesla would suffer immediate and irreparable harm. Tesla claims the monetary damages owed would likely exceed $1 billion.

In 2019, Tesla selected Matthews to be one of its suppliers for equipment that it used to refine its dry-electrode-battery manufacturing and put it into mass production.

Tesla said that, since discovering Matthews’s alleged improper conduct, the company has been working to block and/or delay publication of the affected applications. Only a subset of Tesla’s confidential information regarding dry-electrode manufacturing has been published so far, according to the lawsuit.

Matthews refuted Tesla’s allegations and said the complaint attempts to restrict the company from realizing the value of its intellectual property. Matthews also said that it continues to work with Tesla as a trusted supplier.

Write to Sabela Ojea at [email protected]