By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – A Canadian resident of China pleaded responsible in New York federal courtroom on Thursday to stealing Tesla electric-vehicle battery manufacturing commerce secrets and techniques and conspiring to promote them to undercover authorities brokers, based on the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ).
Klaus Pflugbeil, 58, the operator of a China-based enterprise that sells know-how utilized in electrical autos, faces as much as 10 years in jail for plotting with enterprise associate Yilong Shao to promote Tesla’s secrets and techniques to FBI brokers posing as Lengthy Island businesspeople, the division mentioned in an announcement.
Neither Pflugbeil’s legal professional nor representatives for Tesla instantly responded to Reuters requests for remark. Shao, who was additionally charged however stays at massive, couldn’t be reached for remark.
“Together with his responsible plea, Pflugbeil is now being held accountable for this illegal conduct that jeopardized our nationwide safety,” U.S. Assistant Lawyer Basic Matthew Olsen mentioned in an announcement.
Pflugbeil, who can be a citizen of Germany, was charged in New York in March. Prosecutors mentioned Pflugbeil and Shao constructed their EV battery enterprise on commerce secrets and techniques from a “main U.S.-based electrical car firm.”
Prosecutors didn’t identify the corporate however mentioned it acquired a Canada-based producer of battery-assembly strains in 2019, which matches the outline of Tesla’s acquisition of Canadian firm Hibar.
Thursday’s assertion mentioned that Pflugbeil and Shao each labored for the Canadian firm earlier than Pflugbeil joined Shao’s enterprise in 2020. DOJ mentioned that the unnamed enterprise now has places in China, Canada, Germany and Brazil, making the identical battery-assembly tools as their earlier employer.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Modifying by Alexia Garamfalvi and Sandra Maler)
