A German-Canadian residing in China has been sentenced to 2 years in the U.S. for stealing trade secrets from American electric vehicle giant Tesla.
According to foreign media reports, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that 59-year-old Klaus Pflugbeil, an operator of a Chinese company selling electric vehicle technology, admitted in June this year to conspiring with business partner Shao Yilong (translated name) to meet with undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen in Long Island to sell them Tesla's battery manufacturing secrets.
The battery technology in question reportedly cost $13 million to develop.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Olsen said in a statement: "Pflugbeil stole trade secrets from an American electric vehicle manufacturer and used them in his company in China, an action that could benefit the People's Republic of China in a critical industry of national security significance, harming the involved company and threatening the financial foundation of the United States."
Pflugbeil, who holds both German and Canadian citizenship, was charged in New York in March this year.
Prosecutors stated that he and Shao Yilong used the trade secrets of a 'leading American electric vehicle company' to establish their electric vehicle battery business. The prosecutors did not reveal the name of the company, but they said the company acquired a Canadian-based battery assembly line manufacturer in 2019, which matches the description of Tesla's acquisition of Canadian company Hibar.
The U.S. Department of Justice indicated that Pflugbeil and Shao Yilong once worked for this Canadian company, and Pflugbeil joined Shao Yilong's company in 2020. Prosecutors stated that Pflugbeil and Shao Yilong's enterprise has branches in China, Canada, Germany, and Brazil, producing the same battery assembly equipment as their former employer.
Prosecutors claimed that last year Shao Yilong met with an undercover agent at a trade show in Las Vegas, after which Pflugbeil sent them a business proposal containing Tesla’s trade secrets.