Tesla says it has reached a ‘conditional’ settlement in Rivian trade secrets lawsuit

Tesla and Rivian may have resolved a lawsuit in which Tesla accused Rivian of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets.

Bloomberg reports that Tesla told a California judge that the companies have reached a “conditional” settlement, and that it expects to seek dismissal of the lawsuit by December 24.

Tesla filed the suit, which was set to go to trial in March of next year, back in 2020. The EV maker alleged that it had discovered an “alarming pattern” in which Rivian was recruiting Tesla employees and encouraging them to take proprietary information with them as they left.

In response, Rivian filed to dismiss the suit, arguing that it was an “improper and malicious attempt to slow” Rivian’s momentum and to scare Tesla employees who might be thinking of leaving.

Tesla did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. A Rivian spokesperson said the company does not comment on litigation.