In yet another legal battle over trade secrets, Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Matthews International, a former machinery supplier, accusing the company of stealing its proprietary dry-electrode battery manufacturing technology. Tesla alleges that Matthews incorporated Tesla's confidential trade secrets into patent filings and sold its technology to other clients, including Tesla's competitors.

According to the lawsuit filed in a California court, Tesla had selected Matthews in 2019 to be one of its suppliers in refining and mass-producing its dry-electrode battery manufacturing. As part of the agreement, Matthews agreed to a confidentiality agreement, pledging not to share Tesla's technology with other clients.

Tesla claims that Matthews violated this agreement by filing patent applications that included Tesla technology without their knowledge. Tesla further alleges that Matthews' actions could lead to the publication of Tesla's confidential information regarding the dry-electrode manufacturing process. They state that Matthews attempted to claim ownership and inventorship of Tesla's trade secrets through these patent applications.

Furthermore, Tesla accuses Matthews of disclosing its confidential trade secrets to other companies, including Tesla's competitors. They claim that Matthews attempted to sell equipment for dry-electrode battery manufacturing, which incorporated Tesla's trade secrets, to these competitors. Tesla asserts that Matthews' actions not only denied them patent rights to their own technology but also exposed high-value technology to the public and their competitors, causing direct harm to Tesla's business.

Tesla is seeking damages and conservatively estimates the damages to be at $1 billion. Matthews, on the other hand, denies all claims made by Tesla, stating that the allegations are without merit and that Tesla has failed to identify any trade secret disclosed to Matthews.

In fact, Matthews claims that Tesla is attempting to steal their dry-electrode technology. They argue that Tesla's lawsuit is a tactic to bully Matthews and take their valuable intellectual property. Furthermore, Matthews states that Tesla's complaint restricts their ability to offer their innovative solutions to others, hindering the market from benefiting from their dry battery electrode ("DBE") solutions and interfering with the realization of the value of their intellectual property.

The legal battle between Tesla and Matthews adds to the growing list of lawsuits that Tesla has filed over the years, accusing companies and former employees of stealing their trade secrets. Tesla's acquisition of Maxwell Technologies in 2019 further demonstrates their commitment to integrating dry electrode technology into their 4680 battery cell technology.

With both companies digging in their heels and defending their positions, it remains to be seen how the legal battle will unfold. As the case progresses, the outcome will have significant implications for the future of battery technology and trade secrets protection.