A Canadian national residing in China was detained in New York under accusations of attempting to illicitly sell Tesla’s proprietary battery manufacturing technology.
Klaus Pflugbeil faced arrest in Long Island after federal prosecutors charged him with the theft of trade secrets, following a sting operation involving undercover agents. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York disclosed these developments in a recent statement, reports the New York Times.
Pflugbeil, along with Yilong Shao, a 47-year-old Chinese citizen who is currently fugitive, allegedly sought buyers for technology integral to battery part production, which is described in court filings as belonging to a premier U.S.-based electric vehicle and battery systems manufacturer, widely understood to be Tesla.
Both accused, previously associated with Hibar Systems—a Canadian entity acquired by Tesla in 2019—reportedly had access to detailed manufacturing information, facilitating potential replication of Tesla’s production techniques.
Following Hibar’s acquisition, they planned to market its technology through various digital platforms, including Google ads, LinkedIn, and YouTube, fully aware of its proprietary status, as per the prosecutors’ assertions. That wasn’t very smart, was it?
An interaction initiated by undercover agents with Shao at a Las Vegas trade show culminated in persuading Pflugbeil to negotiate in New York, under the guise of finalizing a deal, ultimately leading to his arrest. It’s good to see the U.S. attorney’s office taking this crime seriously. It remains to be seen if Shao will ever be caught, but stay tuned.
