Tesla Settles With Ex-engineer Accused Of Stealing Autopilot Source Code
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Tesla and former Tesla engineer Cao Guangzhi have come to a settlement after the electrical auto company accused Cao of stealing the Autopilot ASCII text file . Cao, an engineer focused on autonomous driving, told Reuters that the ASCII text file has never been used since he parted ways with Tesla.
In 2019 Tesla sued Cao after the engineer left Tesla to figure at its rival, the Chinese carmaker XMotors. Tesla accused Cao of stealing trade secrets — specifically the ASCII text file for its Autopilot driver-assistance software. within the initial filing, Tesla mentioned it because the “crown jewel of Tesla’s property portfolio.” While Tesla and its fans often liken it to autonomous driving, it’s really more a classy sort of control and Tesla has previously come under attack for misrepresenting its capabilities.
Cao left Tesla to figure on automated driving technology at Xmotors. He later admitted that he uploaded multiple zip files containing the ASCII text file to his iCloud account in 2018 while he still worked for Tesla. Yet he insisted he never used the ASCII text file in his work on Xmotors, and continues to insist an equivalent today.
XMotors confirmed to Reuters that Cao is not any longer with the corporate , and says it respects property rights. Cao is on the hook with Tesla and per the terms of the settlement must pay the corporate . the small print of the settlement haven’t been disclosed, so it’s unclear what proportion he owes Tesla.
As a reminder, never upload sensitive company materials to your personal cloud. you would possibly have the simplest of intentions, but your employers probably won’t assume an equivalent.