Tesla Sues Matthews Over EV Battery Trade Secrets

Tesla (TSLA) has taken legal action against its former supplier, Matthews International, in a California federal court for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to Tesla's battery-manufacturing process and sharing them with Tesla's (TSLA) competitors. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that Matthews owes damages exceeding $1 billion for misusing Tesla's trade secrets concerning dry electrode battery manufacturing technology.

Matthews, a Pittsburgh-based company that started supplying manufacturing machinery to Tesla (TSLA) in 2019, allegedly shared Tesla's innovations related to dry-electrode coating with unnamed competitors. This technology is crucial for reducing the size, cost, energy consumption, and production cycle time of battery manufacturing plants, while enhancing the energy density and power of battery cells.

According to the lawsuit, Matthews not only shared Tesla's trade secrets but also claimed Tesla's inventions as its own in patent filings, revealing confidential Tesla information. Tesla is seeking the court's intervention to prevent Matthews from further misusing its trade secrets, compel Matthews to surrender its patent applications, and claim monetary damages.

As of now, representatives from Matthews and attorneys and spokespeople from Tesla (TSLA) have not responded to requests for comments on this matter.

Technical Outlook
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) stock is up 4.48% in Monday's market trading with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 58.34 which is poised for further gains and if Tesla Inc. should win the case against Matthews we should expect price impact.