Tesla Motors sues designer on competing green car

subscribe

Electric car maker Tesla Motors has sued a well-known automotive designer it hired to style the body and interior of its electric-hybrid four-door sedan, after the man announced plans for a competing vehicle.

The lawsuit, filed in San Mateo Superior Court in California, accuses designer Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, the chief operating officer of Fisker's design company Fisker Coachbuild, of fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets, and breach of contract during their year-long effort in 2007 to style the interior and body of the Tesla sedan, called WhiteStar.

The San Francisco law firm that represents Fisker Coachbuild said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Tesla paid Fisker, who has designed for BMW, Aston Martin and other high-end car makers, nearly $800,000 and gave him access to its trade secrets, business plan and proprietary engineering data developed during production of its first vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, the lawsuit said.

Tesla accuses Fisker of purposely providing substandard designs for the Tesla sedan - resulting in a six-month delay of its release to 2010 - while using Tesla's data and holding back Fisker's best designs for his own vehicle.

Shortly after completing services for Tesla, Fisker and Koehler announced they were forming Fisker Automotive to put out a four-door hybrid-electric sedan called the Karma.

"What he did is outrageous," attorney Adam Belsky of Gross Belsky & Alonso, who represents Tesla, said. "Clearly now in retrospect, Fisker had a strong motivation not to provide his best work for them."

The lawsuit asks a court to bar Fisker from using Tesla trade secrets and confidential information in his car design, and to award Tesla lost profits and punitive damages of an unspecified amount.

Related News

andrea horwath

An NDP government would make hydro public again, end off-peak pricing, Horwath says in Sudbury

TORONTO - Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath says her party’s hydro plan will reduce families’ electricity bills and the NDP is the only choice to get Hydro One back in public hands.

Howarth outlined the plan Saturday morning outside the home of a young family who say they struggle with their electricity bills — in particular over the extra laundry they now have after the birth of their twin boys.

An NDP government would end time-of-use pricing, which charges higher rates during peak times and lower rates after hours, “so that people aren’t punished for cooking dinner at dinner time,” Horwath said…

READ MORE
bc hydro logo

B.C. residents and businesses get break on electricity bills for three months

READ MORE

Hydro-Québec will refund a total of $535 million to customers who were account holders in 2018 or 2019

READ MORE

Berlin Geothermal Plant in El Salvador Set to Launch This Year

Berlin Geothermal Plant in El Salvador Set to Launch This Year

READ MORE

bitcoin electricity

The Great Debate About Bitcoin's Huge Appetite For Electricity Determining Its Future

READ MORE