The legal battle between Rivian (RIVN) and Tesla got much more interesting. Rivian’s request to dismiss Tesla’s lawsuit was denied by a California state judge on Tuesday, paving the way for trial.
Rivian’s legal battle with Tesla began in 2020 after Tesla filed a lawsuit claiming Rivian stole trade secrets by hiring its former employees.
Tesla’s lawsuit stated it had discovered a “disturbing pattern” of former workers departing for Rivian. It added these employees are “surreptitiously stealing Tesla trade secret, confidential, and proprietary information.”
According to the lawsuit, Rivian had encouraged “those thefts even though Rivian is well aware of Tesla employees’ confidentiality obligations.”
Rivian has denied the claims, saying Tesla is trying to crush the competition. Although Rivian investigated the allegations and took corrective measures, its efforts may not be enough.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Theodore C. Zayner denied Rivian’s request to dismiss the lawsuit on Tuesday.
“Tesla’s evidence establishes that some Rivian employees were less thoroughly investigated and not disciplined,” the judge wrote. According to the tentative ruling, the evidence is enough to warrant a trial.
Rivian’s legal battle with Tesla set for trial
A hearing is set for Wednesday, July 24, 2024, before the judge finalizes his order. Check back soon for more details on Rivian’s legal battle with Tesla. The case is Tesla Inc v. Rivian Automotive Inc., 20CV368472, California Superior Court, Santa Clara County.
Since the lawsuit, Rivian announced plans to adopt Tesla’s NACS connector. CEO RJ Scaringe has praised Tesla’s Supercharging network, saying Rivian strives for similar uptime and reliability. A few Rivian owners have already received adapters after shipments began in April.
The news comes after Tesla released its Q2 2024 earnings Tuesday, beating revenue expectations (read more about Tesla’s Q2 2024 earnings).
After shutting down its Normal, IL manufacturing plant in April for upgrades, Rivian expects momentum to pick up in the second half of the year. Rivian delivered 13,790 vehicles in Q2, about the same as the first three months of 2024 amid the shutdown.
Rivian will release Q2 earnings results on August 6, 2024. The EV maker said it’s on track to build 57,000 EVs this year.
Meanwhile, anticipation is building for Rivian’s next-gen EVs. Vice president of manufacturing Tim Fallon revealed during Family and Friends day on Sunday that Rivian R2 pre-orders are “well over 100,000” and climbing.
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