Martin Eberhard sues Elon Musk and Tesla Motors - Page 10

TEG · 06-15-2009, 04:18 PM

Tesla Lawsuit: The Incredible Importance of Being a Founder

AnOutsider · 06-15-2009, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEG

Tesla Lawsuit: The Incredible Importance of Being a Founder

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul

Eberhard should get a life and MOVE ON…

He lost, Musk won, end of story! Find something better to do that grasp desperately for blog mentions like Musk is making a career of!

If he’s looking to divide up credit for the Tesla Roadster how about putting Alan Cocconi at the top of the list? After-all, the Tesla Roadster started out as a production version of Cocconi’s tzero and Eberhard’s only input into that vehicle was to pay for the first set of Li-ion batteries put into it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

Paul: Ouch!

But not incorrect.

Now that you mention it, I’m not sure what Tesla really provided that was all that different from the tzero conceptually.

Plus, missing the plug-in hybrid boat is a potentially fatal mistake as well.

I bolded the last bit.. perhaps a thread should be made on that alone?

SteveF · 06-15-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcelero.ii

I hope that through this legal process, they can find common ground because I would like to see ME back, if for no other reason than, TM being his baby.

Think Steve Jobs and Apple several years ago. He had a similar departure but returned better than ever.

I doubt the departure of Jobs from Apple was as acrimonious as ME's departure from TESLA. For example, I don't recall any lawsuits being filed, or the back and forth recriminations. I think this particular pond is just too polluted for ME to return to TESLA. That said, if it were open for a vote, it would have mine.

James · 06-15-2009, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnOutsider

Quote:

Plus, missing the plug-in hybrid boat is a potentially fatal mistake as well.

I bolded the last bit.. perhaps a thread should be made on that alone?

I think Tesla skipping the plug-in hybrid boat was brilliant. Too complex design issues and really rough on the batteries.

Chris H. · 06-15-2009, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnOutsider

Fair enough, but the very fact that you have come to a decision as to which side to support means that I have to take your statements with a grain of salt. Why? Your mind is already made regarding the issue which means you're less likely to process new information objectively and more likely to mold it to match your preconceived notions.

There's no offense meant there, just stating how I see it. I think it's a bit unfair to have basically only heard one side of the story (mainly from the underdog of the situation) and form a conclusion based on that. You have, and that's fine, but I'm not ready to do that just yet.

*edit* TEG put it best. We need facts, not inferences and opinions (no matter how long you've been watching Tesla). Let's let this play out and go from there.

I also respect facts, and if anybody here has any facts that contradict anything that I've said I would be happy to hear them and discuss their relevance. I think that the reality is that short of TM releasing the minutes of their board meetings, or the existence of hundreds of hours of CCTV footage (with sound) of private discussions between Martin & Elon, then there will only be "he said/he said". In that case, I think you have to side with the person whose version of the story is most consistent with the things that you do know to be true.

I have heard both sides of the story so far, and I will read/listen to the response from EM and TM, and take that into consideration too. Up to this point I know which story correlates most closely to my own memory and understanding of what has happened at TM, and which one sounds like revisionist history.

No offense taken.

James · 06-15-2009, 10:51 PM

None of this really matters. Our opinions on EM vs ME mean absolutely nothing. This is all a bunch of BS for blogs and media to start panting over. After it is all over, nothing will be any different. ME will still be out of Tesla Motors and EM will still own about 1/3 of the company and be in control.

There is no way to take things back to 2007 and "fix" this based on all that is right and just.

My prediction: This will all be settled out of court and we will never know what the final deal is.

Arnold Panz · 06-16-2009, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

My prediction: This will all be settled out of court and we will never know what the final deal is.

I don't know about that. This is clearly a lawsuit about ego -- on both sides, and when you have that as the main motivation for a lawsuit, it makes it incredibly difficult to settle. If I were EM (or his attorneys), I'd be loathe to settle for anything less than nuisance value (i.e., maybe half the cost of defending the case). I assume that ME would never accept such a low figure, and he seems to have filed this to "get his day in court", and maybe to try to shed some light on what he considers to be the "truth", even if it costs him a lot of time and money.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this case go the distance -- either a decision by the judge that the case has no merit (called "summary judgment"), or a full-fledged trial. IF there are facts that would be embarrassing to EM that would come out at trial, and he can't get summary judgment, then he may be incentivized to settle, but that's really speculating at this point as to what facts will come out in discovery.

vfx · 06-16-2009, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arnold Panz

... This is clearly a lawsuit about ego -- on both sides,..

It's not just about ego. If ME has been not able to find work and is having his reputation sullied then it's about livelyhood. The Earth2Tech article goes into how this affects ME financially. (it's called Incredible Importance with conversations with other founders stressing what's at stake) Basically, if EM "wins" then ME's career is besmirched as the man who had to be outed because he was loosing money for the company. At best his resume has a big hole in it for 6 years. That's not ego, that's trying to feed your family.

AnOutsider · 06-16-2009, 07:39 AM

This is a fair point. Having his name still in good standing as one of the originators of the Tesla brand would go a long way when it comes to developing and pitching new products and ideas.

An investor is much more likely to want to work with one of the Founders of the (hopefully by then) great Tesla Motors than with the guy who started it, but got booted because of XYZ.

James · 06-16-2009, 07:45 AM

The settlement might be the financial issues actually noted in the lawsuit. 4 months pay that is owed to ME plus the 250,000 shares promised in the severance agreement.

Since we don't know the current price per share, it is impossible to know the value of those shares. But based on the Daimler investment, they are clearly worth something now.

If Martin still owns 3% of the company, he is a multi-millionaire already.