Tesla has been slapped with a lawsuit by Perrone Robotics. The Virginia-based plaintiff claims its patented technology is present without authorization in every Tesla car running Autopilot in the last six year.
The case was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
Perrone Robotics, founded by Paul Perrone, has a robotics operating system that allows one software base to control many types of automated machines. Perrone says this approach once solved a major industry problem. According to the lawsuit, manufacturers often needed separate hardware and software for each vehicle. However, with Perrone Robotics’ system, this can be avoided.
Tesla vehicles are now being accused of relying on systems that mirror these patented ideas. Perrone maintains that it offered one of the affected patents to Tesla in 2017.
The lawsuit seeks financial damages and an order for Tesla to stop using the technology. At the moment, the American automaker has not commented on the lawsuit.
Any disruption to Autopilot could affect future software updates and long-term support. The lawsuit also arrives at a time when CEO Elon Musk is seriously promoting Tesla’s plan for robotaxis. A prolonged legal fight could delay those plans and affect competition in the growing autonomous EV market.
If the court rules in favour of Perrone Robotics, it could influence software licensing models across the industry and increase development costs for companies that rely on similar systems.
