[BreachExchange] Tesla sues ex-employee for hacking, theft, and leaking to the press

[Destry Winant]

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/20/17484030/tesla-sues-employee-hacking-theft-leaking

Tesla filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging that a former employee
hacked the company’s system and transferred “gigabytes” of data to
unnamed third parties. The lawsuit may align with Tesla CEO Elon
Musk’s recent claim of “sabotage” by an ex-worker.

Tesla’s lawsuit names Martin Tripp, a former process technician at the
company’s Gigafactory in Nevada, as the defendant. Tesla claims that
Tripp “unlawfully hacked the company’s confidential and trade secret
information and transferred that information to third parties.” To do
so, Tripp placed “hacking software” in the computers of three
individual employees to routinely export confidential data, the
company says.

Tesla says that Tripp has already admitted to hacking its
manufacturing operating system, and the company accuses him of making
false statements to the media about the stolen information. The suit,
which was filed in federal court in Nevada, was first reported by
CNBC.

Tesla claims that Tripp was the source of a news report about
punctured battery cells at Tesla’s factory.

For example, Tripp claimed that punctured battery cells had been used
in certain Model 3 vehicles even though no punctured cells were ever
used in vehicles, batteries or otherwise. Tripp also vastly
exaggerated the true amount and value of “scrap” material that Tesla
generated during the manufacturing process, and falsely claimed that
Tesla was delayed in bringing new manufacturing equipment online.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify which media outlet Tripp leaked to, but
earlier this month, Business Insider ran a story about scrap metal
waste and punctured battery cells at Tesla’s factory, citing documents
and former employees as sources.

Musk first alluded to the incidents described in the lawsuit last week
in an email to Tesla employees in which he claimed Tesla was being
sabotaged by an ex-employee. The employee was allegedly found to have
made “direct code changes” to Tesla’s manufacturing system and sent
“large amounts of highly sensitive” data to third parties.

Musk also questioned whether “Wall Street short-sellers,” “oil & gas
companies,” or “the multitude of big gas/diesel car company
competitors” may have been involved. “If they’re willing to cheat so
much about emissions, maybe they’re willing to cheat in other ways?”
he wrote.

Tesla has struggled to ramp up production of its Model 3 vehicle,
encountering bottlenecks in its factory and supply chain. The company
is scrambling to produce 5,000 Model 3s a week ahead of its
third-quarter earnings, as it attempts to evolve from a niche luxury
electric car company into a mass-market player.

A lawyer for Tripp could not be immediately reached, and a Tesla
spokesperson declined to comment.