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Nikola was founded in 2014, and the company showed off its first two products — an electric four-wheel offroad vehicle and a hydrogen-electric semi truck — in May of 2016. It has since added a second semi truck to its eventual lineup, teased some all-electric personal watercraft, and announced plans for a $1 billion factory in Arizona.
The complaint filed by Nikola lays out a number of claims that, viewed together, the company says prove Tesla cribbed from the startup’s patents. Nikola points to supposed similarities in the trucks’ front fenders, wraparound windshields, mid-entry doors, aerodynamic fuselage (with similar drag coefficients), and more as evidence that Tesla copied its design. It also claims that a recruiter for Tesla, Aaron Hoyos, tried to poach Nikola’s chief engineer just a few months after the startup unveiled its hydrogen semi truck, and that this is evidence that Tesla was aware of Nikola’s unique design features.
More at Tesla sued for $2 billion by hydrogen truck startup
