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Ex-Tesla engineer Alexander Yatskov, who is accused of stealing trade secrets, is upset that his case is going to arbitration. Yatskov has noted that it was humiliating to be sued by his former employer in open court, only to be pushed into a closed-door arbitration later. This, according to the ex-Tesla engineer, does not provide him an opportunity to defend himself publicly.

Back in May, Tesla filed a suit against Yatskov, alleging that the engineer had stolen confidential information related to the companys Project Dojo supercomputer, which will be used to train the companys self-driving neural networks. Tesla alleged that the ex-engineer had downloaded confidential and tightly guarded information about Dojo on his personal devices.

The electric vehicle maker noted that when confronted, Yatskov allegedly surrendered a dummy computer in an attempt to cover his tracks. The company added that it had caught the ex-Tesla engineer sending emails with classified information about the company from his personal email address to his work email. For context, Yatskov was with Tesla for a short period, being hired in January and formally resigning in early May.

While addressing Yatskov at a San Francisco hearing, US District Judge James Donato noted that the case could very well end up in arbitration. I think youre on your way to arbitration. Id love to keep it. Im just not really seeing a way, Judge Donato said.

Yatskovs lawyers, for their part, have argued that Teslas strategy of toggling back and forth between court and arbitration is procedurally improper, according to aBloomberg Newsreport. The ex-Tesla engineers legal team added that Tesla cannot have it both ways. Now that Tesla has dragged Dr. Yatskovs name through the mud, Tesla wants to hide this dispute in private arbitration, Yatskovs lawyers wrote in a filing.

Despite the arguments of the defendants lawyers, Judge Donato has stated that Tesla seems to be appropriately exercising the mandatory arbitration provision of Yatskovs contract with the automaker. He also urged Tesla and the ex-engineer to seek a settlement. Teslas attorney, Sean Paul Gates, however, told the judge that the EV maker is looking to recover the costs of its investigation into the former employee, which could be a roadblock to a potential settlement.

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Ex-Tesla engineer accused of theft upset that case is going to arbitration - TESLARATI