Hyperdrive
Startup Sues Tesla for $2 Billion Over Electric Truck Design
- Nikola Motor says Tesla copied cab’s aerodynamic features
- Musk’s carmaker says there’s no merit to the lawsuit
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Nikola Corp., a hydrogen-powered truck startup, is suing Tesla Inc. for $2 billion, claiming the Elon Musk-led company intentionally copied patented design features of its tractor trailers.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday in Arizona, claimed that Tesla copied Nikola designs with the electric semi truck Musk unveiled in November. The closely held, four-year-old startup alleges similarities in the wraparound windshields, doors and look of the cab of its Nikola One hydrogen-electric hybrid truck revealed in 2016. The case pits two companies both named after the inventor and futurist Nikola Tesla, best known for developing alternating current in electrical systems.