Overview

• Tesla filed a lawsuit on June 12 alleging that former engineer Zhongjie ‘Jay’ Li misappropriated trade secrets from its Optimus humanoid robot program.
• The complaint accuses Li of downloading confidential Optimus files onto two personal smartphones and misusing designs for advanced robotic hand sensors.
• Less than a week after leaving Tesla in September 2024, Li founded Proception Inc., a Y Combinator-backed startup that has publicly showcased humanoid hands bearing a striking resemblance to Tesla’s designs.
• Tesla is seeking compensatory and exemplary damages as well as an injunction to prevent Li and Proception from using any of the company’s proprietary robotics technology.
• Elon Musk has predicted that Optimus will eventually become the primary source of Tesla’s value, underscoring the high stakes in the emerging humanoid robotics market.