Tesla is suing a former engineer for stealing trade secrets from its Optimus humanoid robot project and using them to launch a rival startup.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, targets Zhongjie “Jay” Li. Tesla accuses Li of downloading confidential info about advanced robotic hand sensors to two personal smartphones. Li worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024.
During his final months, Li allegedly researched humanoid robotic hands on his work computer and scouted funding options online. Less than a week after leaving, he incorporated his startup, Proception, a Y Combinator-backed company building robotic hands. 
Tesla claims Proception quickly claimed success making humanoid hands that strongly resemble Tesla’s designs.
“Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,” the complaint stated. “And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have ‘successfully built’ advanced humanoid robotic hands—-hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla.”
Proception’s site says they aim to “revolutionize human-robot interaction by building the world’s most advanced humanoid hands.”
Tesla’s Optimus has been a rough ride since its 2021 reveal. Initially promised for 2023 launch, the humanoid robot remains in development. Elon Musk pushed a 2026 sales target in July 2024, but at an October “We, Robot” event, most Optimus bots were controlled remotely by humans.
TechCrunch reached out to Tesla and Proception for comment.
