A former engineer at Tesla wins a big step forward in her legal fight against the electric car company and its CEO Elon Musk.
Cristina Balan, who once had her initials engraved on Tesla’s Model S batteries, has been fighting Tesla in a protracted legal battle.
In 2014, the engineer lost her job after she raised a potential design flaw which could affect the vehicles' braking system.
She claimed that the worried carpets were curling beneath pedals in some cars, which could cause safety hazards. However, managers dismissed the whistleblower's concerns and she consequently lost her job.
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Balan later won a wrongful termination case, but that was just the beginning.
In 2019, she filed a defamation lawsuit against the company, claiming the company accused her of misusing company resources for a 'secret project' - something she always denied.
At first, her case was thrown into arbitration due to a contract she’d signed with Tesla. The arbitrator sided with the company and Musk, saying her claims were too late under California’s statute of limitations.
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But now, the decision has been overturned by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit saying the district court did not have jurisdiction. And the case has now been revived by a California appeal court. Following the ruling, Balan said she’s ready to face Musk in court.
"We are hoping we will start a new lawsuit and we will have the chance to take on Elon Musk in front of a jury and judge," she said.
Sadly, Balan has been battling stage 3B breast cancer and described her biggest fear is that she won’t live to see the case through. "I want to clear my name," she told BBC News last year. "I wish Elon Musk had the decency to apologise."
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She added that she's determined to prove that she is innocent for the sake of her son. Bill Moran, Balan's attorney, agreed that the legal process is far from over, but the latest court decision will bring her case another step forward.
"We are confident we can secure her either a new arbitration or alternatively a trial in court so that her case can be heard on the merits after so many years," he said. "She has fought cancer while waging this case [...] she is the epitome of strength and resolve, and she is now one step closer to getting the justice she deserves."