Tesla Motors' Eberhard, Musk Reach Settlement in Defamation Lawsuit
By Scott Doggett September 21, 2009
Embittered former Tesla Motors CEO Martin Eberhard has settled his defamation lawsuit against the electric-car company and its current chief executive, Elon Musk.
The terms of the settlement are confidential, but in a joint statement released today it would appear that Eberhard and Musk have ended their public display of animus -- as well as come to an understanding regarding who founded Tesla Motors, maker of the Tesla Roadster (pictured) and Model S zero-emissions plug-in electric vehicles.
"Elon Musk and Martin Eberhard, two of the co-founders of Tesla, announced today that they have resolved their dispute," the statement reads.
In his defamation suit, Eberhard claimed that Musk was stealing his thunder by declaring himself the founder of Tesla in interviews. Eberhard even tried (unsuccessfully) to have a judge declare that he founded the company.
The suit, filed last May, also accused Musk of wrongfully blaming Eberhard for production delays, failing to pay Eberhard's severance and many other misdeeds. Eberhard went so far as to have accused Musk of lying on his resume about his education and employment history.
But today the men sang each other praises, with Eberhard saying, "As co-founder of the company, Elon's contributions to Tesla have been extraordinary," and Musk stating that "without Martin's indispensable efforts, Tesla motors would not be here today."
Eberhard's lawyer, Yosef Peretz, said he could not discuss the terms of the settlement. But, he said his client was "very pleased" with the result.
It's amazing what a pile of money can do to improve one's mood. Of course, we can only assume a pile of money was involved, because both parties are prohibited from discussing it.
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I wouldn't mind except it's our taxpayer money that Musk paid off Eberhard with. What a disgrace.
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