Tesla sues ex-engineer for stealing Optimus robot’s trade secrets

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against former engineer Zhongjie “Jay” Li, accusing him of stealing proprietary technology from its Optimus humanoid robot program to launch a rival startup, Proception. The complaint alleges that Li downloaded confidential information related to Tesla’s advanced robotic hand sensors onto personal devices before leaving the company in September 2024. Tesla claims that Proception, backed by Y Combinator, used this stolen data to rapidly develop humanoid robotic hands that closely resemble Tesla’s designs, achieving in months what Tesla took years and billions of dollars to build. The lawsuit also highlights suspicious behavior by Li, including researching humanoid robotic hands and seeking startup funding while still employed at Tesla. This legal action comes amid ongoing challenges for Tesla’s Optimus project, which was initially announced in 2021 with plans for a 2023 rollout but has since faced delays, pushing the expected sales date to 2026. Public demonstrations have shown limited autonomous functionality, with many robots remotely controlled by humans. Despite