Tesla Motors, an electric sports car manufacturer has been facing some tough times lately. In October the company announced layoffs, an executive position dismissal, its Detroit office closed, and a 6-month production delay in its all-electric sedan, the Model S.
There is no doubt that Tesla is affected by the economic turmoil of recent times. However, as if the above blows weren’t harsh enough, another one came in today. The latest setback came in the form a lawsuit which Tesla filed against rival car-maker Fisker Automotive but which has now been ruled as baseless by an arbitrator.
Tesla accused Henrik Fisker of stealing design ideas and trade secrets. Fisker, who is an exotic car designer, had previously been hired for contract work by Tesla. Subsequently in the fall, Fisker established his Irvine company and announced plans to develop a Tesla competitor, named Fisker Karma. In the lawsuit, Tesla had tried to stop Fisker from using Tesla design documents and to return the payment he received from Tesla for the contract.
At this point, Tesla is still planning to open a new headquarters in San Jose, which will include a production facility for the Model S, a car that is planned for production in mid-2011. This plan depends on receiving a Department of Energy loan guarantee.
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Sounds to me like Tesla tried to interfere with Fisker by trumping up a bunch of lies to slow a legitimate competitor down by poisoning their well with suppliers & investors.
Good cover story with the Tesla investors too as to why management is NOT incompetent in its mismanagement of the company. Guess all those ex-CEOs and employees were someone else’s fault as well. Yeah right… time to join the Tesla DeathWatch.