Following the lawsuit Tesla filed in July against upcoming rival Rivian, the electric pickup manufacturer is now retaliating. After being accused of hiring former Tesla employees to allegedly obtain secret intellectual property, Rivian is now claiming that Tesla has done significant damage to the company’s reputation with the three claims pinned against it. Rivian also claimed that two of the three claims Tesla accused the company of are false with no facts to back them up.
Rivian’s lawyers say Tesla’s lawsuit is an “improper and malicious attempt to slow” Rivian’s progress according to reports from TechCrunch. In addition, they believe that Tesla not only wanted to damage Rivian’s image but also use the lawsuit as a scare tactic on its own employees who may be considering employment elsewhere.
In a lawsuit filed with the California Superior Court in Santa Clara, Rivian’s lawyers said they have “rigorous policies and procedures to make sure it does not obtain confidential information from other companies when on-boarding employees.”