Martin Tripp, a former Tesla employee, had finally gone to the SEC as he plans to bounce back against his former company's legal suit. He even went further to ask help from a law firm that gained fame when it won $22.5 million in a Monsanto lawsuit back in 2016. This surely spells trouble for the embattled Elon Musk-owned Tesla company.
The battle is a war with both sides claiming to be the victim. On one side, Elon Musk is suing Tripp, claiming sabotage to stop the company from pursuing its goals. Tripp, however, has since filed a formal whistleblower complaint. According to CNBC, the former Tesla technician went so far as to link up with Meissner Associates, a law firm famous for winning $22.5 million for their last client.
Bad Apples
The outspoken CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, counter-filed and said that Tripp was only out to defame the company because of personal reasons., ArsTechnica says that on Tesla's counter-affidavit, Martin Tripp was portrayed as an ex-employee with an ax to grind, one who has taken matters into his own hands after failing to secure a promotion within the company, specifically at the Gigafactory.
To give further weight to their claims, the lawsuit also states that internal systems were compromised by Tripp's hacking. The suit also said Tripp leaked company data outside as well as lied to reporters about several of his claims.
Martin Tripp's Allegations
Martin Tripp's allegations are not without weight at all. There are a lot of problems within Tesla, Ars Technica reports.
Tripp, through Stuart Meissner of Meissner Associates, had said Tesla isn't as honest as they appear to be. He claims that there were safety flaws in some designs, particularly in Tesla batteries, as well as company waste, among others. He says in his affidavit that these were based on what he saw as a technician in the Gigafactory.
Partnering with Meissner Associates certainly works in Tripp's favor. The company is renowned for its role in the Monsanto case, where they managed to win the case for their client. Meissner believes that Tripp is on the right side of the case and that he has been wrongly accused.
