The settlement between Tesla and Alexander Yatskov ended a lawsuit that began in May 2020, when Tesla accused the former engineer of stealing trade secrets related to its AI-training supercomputer Dojo. Yatskov, a thermal engineer on the Dojo project, resigned in May 2020 after being put on administrative leave. Tesla filed a lawsuit against him that same month, alleging that he had kept confidential information related to Dojo on his personal computer and provided the company with a "dummy" computer to cover his tracks.
The case was sent to arbitration by a San Francisco federal judge last August, despite Yatskov's plea to keep it in federal court so that he could publicly contest Tesla's claims, which he described as "humiliating." The terms of the settlement reached between the parties have not been disclosed, but it has been confirmed that Yatskov will be making a monetary payment to Tesla.
Tesla's Dojo project is a supercomputer designed to train the company's self-driving technology, which it hopes will one day power a fleet of autonomous taxis one day. The project is a vital part of Tesla's push to achieve full autonomy in its vehicles, and the company has invested heavily in developing the technology. Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, has said that the company's self-driving technology is "the most important fundamental problem that humanity needs to solve" and has promised to have a fully self-driving car on the market by the end of 2021.
Trade secrets are a significant concern for tech companies like Tesla, which rely on proprietary technology to stay ahead of their competitors. As a result, the theft of trade secrets can have severe consequences for a company's bottom line and reputation. In recent years, several high-profile cases of trade secret theft have made headlines, including a case in which Chinese tech company Huawei was accused of stealing trade secrets from a US rival and a patient in which a former Google engineer was charged with stealing trade secrets related to the company's self-driving technology.
The settlement between Tesla and Yatskov brings an end to a case that had the potential to be damaging for both parties. For Tesla, the case threatened to undermine its efforts to develop its self-driving technology, which it sees as critical to its future success. For Yatskov, the case threatened to damage his reputation and potentially limit his future job prospects in the tech industry. While the terms of the settlement remain confidential, it is clear that both parties have reached a resolution that they believe is in their best interests.
