TECH

Chinese engineer accused of stealing sensitive data from Tesla tried to erase his tracks

Tesla and Apple suspect they were betrayed by freelance car engineers who went to work for the same Chinese startup. Tesla is now asking Apple for help in a lawsuit in which the automaker accuses an engineer working on the Pilot program Automatic to take thousands of highly confidential files when it took a job at XMotors.ai, the US-based research division of Xpeng, headquartered in Guangzhou.
In addition to the typical requirements of the initial phase of the investigation of the facts, presented in the lawsuit last week, Tesla wants access to the engineer's emails and an analysis of his electronic equipment. The company, founded by Elon Musk, said it called Apple to testify. The lawsuit does not specify what documents Tesla wants from Apple, but the understanding is that while the Silicon Valley giants are competing in the unattended management segment, the two have in Xpeng a common enemy. In July last year, prosecutors accused an engineer of Apple's standalone vehicle development team of downloading proprietary files as he prepared to leave the company to work for another company in China.
Tesla's professional, Guangzhi Cao, admitted in court documents that he downloaded copies related to the Auto Pilot code for his personal account on iCloud, but denied any infringement.Cao "did exactly nothing with Tesla's IP" , attempted to erase all Tesla codes from his personal devices with "diligence and determination" and made himself available to deliver to the company forensic copies of any device he would like to inspect, said the defendant's defense attorneys.
Xpeng has among its investors Alibaba Group Holding and Foxconn Technology Group. The company is one of the Chinese startups that aims to redefine the automotive sector. The world's largest auto market is encouraging the production of vehicles that run on alternative energy in an effort to reduce air pollution and dependence on oil imports. B. B./mundophone