A U.S. District Court Judge recently denied Tesla’s request to block Matthews International Corporation from selling its dry battery electrode technology worldwide. Dry battery electrode technology is the foundation of Tesla’s 4680 cells.
Tesla filed a lawsuit against Matthews in June 2024. The EV automaker alleged that the manufacturing equipment supplier stole trade secrets related to Tesla’s battery technology and shared them with competitors. According to the filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the automaker claims Matthews owes damages to Tesla, which it “conservatively estimates will exceed $1 billion.”
Last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila denied Tesla’s request for a temporary restraining order against Matthews. Tesla sought to prevent Matthews from selling its dry battery electrode technology. Judge Davila’s ruling is based on Matthews’ claim that its dry battery electrode technology predates Tesla’s existence.
“It is Matthews’ extensive research and development in this area that led to U.S. Patent No. 12,136,727–not Tesla’s,” argued Matthews.
Following Judge Davila’s decision, Tesla filed multiple lawsuits against Matthews. Matthews believes Tesla’s lawsuits are meritless and sees them as a bullying strategy by the automaker.
Dry battery electrode technology has been tied to Tesla’s 4680 cells, which has been deemed a potential game-changer in the electric vehicle industry. In July 2024, reports in China claimed that Tesla was preparing to mass-produce the complete version of its 4680 cells. Tesla is reportedly working on four variants of the dry cathode 4680 cells and expects to unveil the new versions by 2026.
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