Rivian Accuses Tesla of Scare Tactics in Lawsuit Over Defections

Rivian Automotive Inc. said Tesla Inc. is trying to scare its own employees from leaving the company and slow a rival’s growth through a lawsuit accusing the electric car startup of a pattern of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets.

Tesla said in the complaint it filed last month that four of its employees took highly sensitive proprietary information with them when they left to work for Rivian and that it suspected two others may have done the same.

Rivian asked a California state judge in San Jose to toss the lawsuit, saying it had done nothing wrong and that ...