Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives at federal court, April 4, 2019 in New York City. A federal judge will hear oral arguments this afternoon in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that seeks to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal.Drew Angerer | Getty ImagesTesla's security team sent a warning to employees this week to stop leaking company information.
The email, which was shared with CNBC and verified with multiple current employees who requested anonymity, warned that outsiders who “will do anything to see us fail” are “targeting” employees for information via social networks and other methods.
It reminded employees that they signed confidentiality agreements, and warned them, “Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges.”
The email was in part directed at leaks to the media, noting, “In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists.”
It also said somebody was recently fired for posting the phone number to an internal meeting on social media.
Tesla and CEO Elon Musk have a love-hate relationship with the media, as well as social networks including Twitter, which Musk uses obsessively, and Facebook, which he disdains.
In the past two weeks alone, reporters have broken unfavorable news about Tesla, including:
Its failure to secure an exemption on tariffs for its made-in-China components that go into its Model 3 electric sedans.A resurgence of production glitches affecting employees at its car plant in Fremont.Its strained relationship with battery cell suppliers and Gigafactory partner Panasonic.Extremely long waits for Tesla service and repairs.Tesla's beef with a vocal critic aligned with short sellers on Twitter.These stories can overshadow some of the company's recent accomplishments including:
Seeing enough interest in its attempt to raise new capital to raise its target from $2 billion to $2.7 billion, overnight.The opening of new service centers and authorized body shops, in places like Pearl, Mississippi; Des Moines and Memphis.Progress on automated manufacturing and the solar roof at its Sparks, Nevada, battery plant.CEO Elon Musk's promises that Tesla will grow into a driverless car company worth $500 billion.So it's not surprising that Tesla's security team chose this week to send around a warning to employees telling them, in so many words, that loose lips sink ships.
Here's the full e-mail:
Subj. Please Read – Confidentiality Reminder
If you read the news, you know that there is an intense amount of public interest in anything related to Tesla. As a result of our success, we will continue to see an interest from people who will do anything to see us fail. This includes people who are actively seeking proprietary information for their own gain, targeting Tesla employees through personal networks or on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. These solicitations are not only potentially damaging to our company, they can also be illegal, putting you and your colleagues/friends at risk for termination or even the possibility of criminal charges.
As an employee and a shareholder, each of us has a responsibility to safeguard all information and technology we use and generate every day.
When anyone joins Tesla, they agree they “will hold in strictest confidence and will not disclose, use, lecture upon or publish” any of Tesla's confidential and proprietary information. Tesla will take action against those who improperly leak proprietary business information or violate the non-disclosure obligations to which we all agreed. This includes termination of employment, claims for damages, and even criminal charges. If you would like another copy of your Confidentiality Agreement, please send an email to your HR partner or email [HR email address redacted].
If you receive a solicitation for information via social media do not respond and please forward it directly to [Security email address redacted].
The security team will determine whether any additional action is necessary.
We recognize that not everyone who leaks information may be doing so intentionally or with an intent to harm the company. To that point, we ask that you assume what you are working on is sensitive, and do not share details of your work with friends, family, or people outside the organization.
Contact [Security email address redacted] if you think you or your team may benefit from training or a more complete understanding of how to protect our intellectual property and confidential business information.
If you're unsure about what constitutes unacceptable behavior, illegal disclosures or theft of intellectual property, here are some recent examples to illustrate inappropriate conduct and the potential consequences:
* This month, an employee posted the dial-in information of an internal meeting on social media. This employee was identified and terminated the following day.
* A felony charge was filed last month against a former employee who exfiltrated confidential business information from the Tesla domain to his personal account and threatened to disclose confidential company information.
* A former employee uploaded Tesla intellectual property to a personal iCloud account and left the company for a competitor. Tesla filed a lawsuit and is suing him for stealing trade secrets.
* Tesla filed a lawsuit against former employees and a competitor for stealing proprietary information and trade secrets to help the competitor leapfrog past years of work needed to develop and run its own warehousing, logistics, and inventory control operations.
* In January an employee was identified for sharing confidential business information on Twitter, including production numbers, with journalists. The employee was terminated for violating their NDA and Tesla's Communications policy.
It's every employee's responsibility to honor and sustain our culture of progress and sharing, while still abiding by company policy. To do otherwise would be a disservice to your colleagues, our mission, and the hard work you do every day. Thank you for doing your part to advance Tesla's mission by raising awareness and protecting your valuable work.
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