Tesla, Rivian Reach Conditional Settlement in Poaching Suit

Tesla didn’t disclose specifics, but told a California state judge that it expects to seek dismissal of the case by Dec. 24 upon satisfactory completion of the terms. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Tesla Inc. said it’s reached a “conditional” settlement in its 2020 lawsuit accusing Rivian Automotive Inc. of poaching employees to steal electric-vehicle trade secrets.

Tesla didn’t disclose specifics about the agreement in a court filing, but told a California state judge that it expects to seek dismissal of the case by Dec. 24 upon satisfactory completion of the terms.

Rivian declined to comment. A lawyer for Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The dispute kicked off more than four years ago when Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker accused Rivian of an “alarming pattern” of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets. Some workers were “caught red-handed” misappropriating core technology for its next-generation batteries, Tesla later said.

Rivian has denied wrongdoing and criticized the lawsuit as an effort to suppress competition in the EV market.

Rivian and a group of its employees who defected from Tesla lost bids to get the lawsuit thrown out and a trial was set for March.

The case is Tesla Inc. v. Rivian Automotive Inc., 20CV368472, California Superior Court, Santa Clara County (San Jose).