Tesla Hit With Employee Class Action Over May Data Breach

Tesla Inc. allegedly failed to protect the personal information of 75,000 current and former employees that was exposed in a May data breach carried out by former employees of the company, a proposed federal class action said.

Benson Pai alleged that Tesla failed to implement or follow reasonable data security procedures as required by law and failed to protect the sensitive information of class members from unauthorized access.

Tesla learned of the breach in May, when it was informed by a German-language news service, Handelsblatt, that two former Tesla employees had provided it with information taken from Tesla’s network, according to a complaint filed Sept. 5 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

Information exposed in the breach included employees’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, the complaint said.

Tesla didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.

Pai seeks to represent a nationwide class and a California subclass of people whose personal information was exposed in the breach.

Victims have suffered damages in the form of invasion of privacy, increased risk of identity theft and fraud, lost time and out-of-pocket costs incurred responding to the breach, anxiety, and reduced value of their personal information, the complaint said.

The lawsuit brings claims of negligence, invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, and violation of the California Unfair Competition Law, the Customer Records Act, and the Consumer Privacy Act.

Pai is seeking compensatory damages, statutory damages, nominal damages, restitution, disgorgement, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

Swigart Law Group APC and Ben Travis of San Diego represent Pai and the proposed class.

The case is Pai v. Tesla, Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 4:23-cv-04550, case filed 9/5/23.