Key Takeaways
- An appeals court has dismissed an earlier decision in Cristina Balan’s lawsuit against Tesla.
- The Tesla whistleblower sued the company and its CEO for defamation.
- Balan said she now plans to start a new lawsuit.
Tesla whistleblower Cristina Balan will be allowed to reopen her defamation case against the firm and its CEO after it was initially dismissed, a panel of appeal judges ruled on Monday, April 14.
Balan originally sued Tesla in 2019, accusing her former employer of making defamatory statements about her after she revealed vehicle safety concerns. She later filed an amended claim adding Elon Musk as an additional defendant.
Who Is Cristina Balan?
Between 2010 and 2014, Balan worked as a lead engineer on the Tesla Model S interiors design team.
While working for Tesla, Balan said she repeatedly flagged concerns about design flaws, including potential safety issues created by Model S foot mats.
However, when she tried to raise the issue with management, Balan was “bullied, humiliated, demoted and retaliated against in the most horrible way possible,” she later wrote in a blog.
After she was ousted from the company, Balan embarked on a years-long legal battle with Tesla, which included a wrongful dismissal lawsuit and formal complaints to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Tesla Defamation Claim Explained
Balan’s case received media attention after HuffPost ran an article that quoted from her blog in September 2017.
Responding to the article, Tesla accused Balan of misconduct, including misusing company funds, undertaking unauthorized travel, working on a “secret project” during company time and illegally recording conversations.
These allegations would later form the basis of Balan’s defamation case against the company.
Appeal Court Reopens Case
After Balan’s defamation claim against Tesla was compelled to arbitration, Balan added an additional claim against Musk, and the arbitrator ultimately issued an award in favor of Tesla and Musk.
However, Balan successfully argued on appeal that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to confirm the award.
Speaking to the BBC after the decision, Balan said: “We are hoping we will start a new lawsuit and we will have the chance to take on Elon Musk in front of a jury and judge.”
James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
