Photo courtesy of Cristina Balan.
Tesla recently won in a drawn-out court battle with one of its ex-employees, though they may not be so lucky against a new case with a former engineer taking them to court.
Cristina Balan, previously an employee at Tesla, will represent herself in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, after being forced to resign following her raising concerns about safety issues and a friendship-based hierarchy within the company, as reported by LA Times.
Her case, a six-year, ongoing defamation lawsuit against Tesla, was recently successful in a US District Court in Seattle, though Tesla has since appealed the case, now moving it to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
After her resignation, Tesla accused Balan of criminal behavior on a popular news site, though they followed up with no evidence to support their claim. Balan says her professional reputation has suffered immensely since the events.
I bought my Tesla (Bluey) because I wanted to do my part giving up gas powered vehicles and I love the car. But @elonmusk’s coronavirus denialism and @Tesla’s cruel treatment of employees really make me regret that decision. #CristinaBalan #DisappointingCompany https://t.co/vtkP4m7k5B
— Chris Hoover (@DrHooverC) December 9, 2020
Tesla has had over 1,000 lawsuits filed against them and CEO Elon Musk, many of which have been defamation cases. These include when Musk criticized a rescue diver, calling him a “pedo” on Twitter, then following up to call him a “child rapist” to a reporter, with no evidence to support his claims. In spite of this, a jury in LA found that the diver had not been defamed, signaling victory for the CEO and auto giant.
Balan said, “First of all, I want to clear my name. I want to see the pride in my parents’ eyes that they’ve had for me all my life. And I want to show the level of vindictiveness Tesla can go to when they want to destroy somebody.”
Whatever the outcome may be, Balan’s case could likely turn into a landmark case for both employment and arbitration rights.
