Tesla has accused a former engineer of stealing Optimus robot technology

Tesla is suing former employee Jay Lee, accusing him of stealing confidential information related to the development of the Optimus humanoid robot. The company claims that Lee downloaded the sensitive data to personal devices and used it to found Proception, a startup backed by Y Combinator.

According to the lawsuit, the engineer worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024. During that time, he had access to projects to build a robotic arm, and in recent months, he was actively seeking information about launching his own business in the field. Less than a week after his dismissal, Proception was incorporated.

Tesla claims that after just five months, Lee’s startup publicly unveiled humanoid arms whose design is “strikingly similar” to Tesla’s designs. The company also alleges that Lee used Tesla’s designs to circumvent confidentiality agreements.

Proception’s website states that the company’s goal is to revolutionize human-machine interaction with “the world’s most advanced humanoid hands.” However, Tesla believes that its technology was the basis for these developments.

Optimus remains an ambitious but unrealized Tesla project. Since its announcement in 2021, the company has pushed back the release date several times. In 2024, Musk promised to launch sales of the robot by 2026, but demonstrations at an October event showed that the device is not yet fully autonomous.

While Proception and Tesla are refraining from commenting, the lawsuit could set a precedent in the robotics industry, where competition and technology leaks have become growing issues.