High-Stakes Lawsuit Erupts as Tesla Battles Startup Over Alleged Theft of Optimus Trade Secrets
The future of humanoid robotics is at the center of a legal firestorm as Tesla sues former top engineer Zhongjie “Jay” Li for allegedly stealing trade secrets critical to the company’s Optimus robot project—a development Elon Musk has called “the future value driver of Tesla.”
Filed this week in San Francisco federal court, the lawsuit accuses Li of intellectual theft, claiming he walked out of Tesla in September 2024 with some of the most sensitive technical data involving Optimus’s advanced robotic hand sensors—a key element in the robot’s dexterity and human-like capabilities.
Li launched his own startup, Proception Inc., just days after leaving Tesla. Within five months, he reportedly unveiled humanoid robotic hands that matched Optimus in capability—an achievement Tesla says would be impossible without stolen innovation.
“Rather than build through legitimate innovation, trial, and technical rigor, Defendants took a shortcut: theft,” the complaint reads.
Tesla is demanding compensatory and exemplary damages and a court order preventing Li and Proception from using or benefiting from Tesla’s proprietary data.
Billions on the Line
Tesla emphasized that its investment in Optimus spans billions of dollars in R&D, citing years of effort and the world’s leading robotics minds as part of its climb toward automation dominance.
“Such an ambitious project demands unparalleled expertise and substantial time and financial commitment to achieve even incremental progress,” Tesla argued.
Musk’s Bet on Optimus
CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly stated that Optimus is not just a side project—it is the future cornerstone of Tesla’s global empire.
“My prediction long-term is that Optimus will be overwhelmingly the value of the company,” Musk previously declared.
As the AI arms race intensifies, Tesla’s lawsuit signals a broader warning: the battle for humanoid robot supremacy isn’t just about who can build the best machine—it’s about who owns the future itself.