Nikola Motor Company has filed a lawsuit in Arizona alleging that Tesla’s all electric truckinfringes on the hydrogen truck start up’s patents. The lawsuit claims Tesla willfully copied these patents in creating its electric truck, and Nikola is seeking $US2 billion in damages in return.
“It’s patently obvious there is no merit to this lawsuit,” a spokesperson for Tesla said. A representative for Nikola Motors said in a statement t that “We are not commenting because it is in the courts. The lawsuit speaks for itself.”
Nikola was founded in 2014, and the company showed off its first two products — an electric four-wheel off road vehicle and a hydrogen-electric semi truck — in May 2016 . It has since added a second semi truck to its eventual line up, teased some all-electric personal watercraft, and announced plans for a $US1 billion factory in Arizona.
The complaint filed by Nikola lays out a number of claims that, viewed together, the company says prove Tesla cribbed from the startup’s patents. Nikola points to supposed
Similarities in the trucks’ front fenders, wraparound windshields, mid-entry doors, aerodynamic fuselage (with similar drag coefficients), and more as evidence that Tesla copied its design. It also claims that a recruiter for Tesla, Aaron Hoyos, tried to poach Nikola’s chief engineer just a few months after the start up unveiled its hydrogen semi truck, and that this is evidence that Tesla was aware of Nikola’s unique design features.
Additionally, Nikola says it was able to identify that Tesla’s truck might be infringing on its designs from spy photos on the internet in the weeks leading up to Tesla’s mid-November reveal last year. The start up says it sent a cease and desist letter (which is included as an exhibit in the lawsuit) to Tesla on 7thNovember asking the company to delay its announcement until the issue was resolved, but that Tesla never responded.
Nikola says that Tesla’s truck is causing “confusion in the market,” and claims that “Tesla’s infringement has harmed Nikola’s ability to attract investors and partners because investors can now partner with Tesla to have an alternative fuel semi-truck.” The damage from this alleged infringement, per Nikola’s calculations, is “in excess of $US2 billion.”
Nikola has sparred with Tesla before, including how it chose to use the first name of the same famous investor when founding the company. Most recently Nikola claimed in April that, while it has over $8 billion in pre orders for the different versions of its semi trucks, all those reservations will “be returned 100 per cent” and that the start up “won’t use your money to operate our business” — statements that appear to be obvious barbs at Tesla, which holds nearly $US1 billion in customer deposits for the Model 3 and other various announced products, according to recent filings.
