Tesla whistle-blower — whom Elon Musk alleges is a saboteur — to sue for defamation
Martin Tripp says Musk made false statements about him to the media, including that Tripp had planned to go on a shooting spree at the gigafactory
A former Tesla battery factory employee portrayed by CEO Elon Musk as a saboteur fired back with a lawsuit accusing Musk of smearing him in the media. Martin Tripp, who was a process engineering technician at Tesla’s massive factory in Nevada, has traded legal volleys with the electric-car maker since leaving in June. Tripp was sued by the company over claims that he tried to make off with trade secrets after being denied a promotion. He, in turn, filed a whistle-blower complaint with the SEC claiming Tesla made misstatements and omissions to investors. In his latest complaint, filed on Tuesday in federal court in Reno, Nevada, Tripp said Musk made false and defamatory statements about him to the media, including that Tripp had sent Musk a threatening e-mail and planned to go on a shooting spree at the gigafactory. He also denied Tesla’s claim that he misappropriated company proprietary information. He is asking for at least $1m in damages from Tesla. Tripp is seeking $500,000 in fi...
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