Nikola patented a stolen truck design, Tesla claims in legal response
Tesla says Nikola failed to acknowledge the origins of its 2016 truck design. …
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Nikola Chairman Trevor Milton unveils the Nikola One truck in December 2016.
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A sketch of Adriano Mudri’s Road Runner design.
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An image of Mudri’s design included in Tesla’s lawsuit.
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The Tesla Semi.
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The Concept S, a 2010 design from the German company MAN, has important similarities to Nikola’s design, according to Tesla.
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Tesla says this truck design from American truckmaker Navistar exhibits similarities to Nikola’s own design.
Two years ago, hydrogen-truck startup Nikola sued Tesla claiming that the Tesla Semi was a knockoff of Nikola’s own truck design. On Wednesday, Tesla filed a response in the case accusing Nikola of basing its own truck on a 2010 concept by designer Adriano Mudri. Mudri is now director of design at the Croatian automaker Rimac.
“Adriano Mudri is the designer of the Road Runner concept truck,” Tesla writes in its legal filing. “The Road Runner concept truck was entered into the 2010 Michelin Design Challenge, and was selected for display at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.”
According to Tesla, Nikola founder Trevor Milton met with Mudri “during 2014 and/or 2015.” Tesla says that Milton knew about the Road Runner concept truck at the time he applied for the design patents Nikola later used to sue Tesla and that Mudri’s design “constituted a
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