Ray Lane: Tesla’s Suit Against Fisker Is “Ridiculous”

“Ridiculous” is the way Kleiner Perkins VC and Fisker Automotive investor Ray Lane described the lawsuit filed against the car maker last week by competitor Tesla Automotive. Tesla is accusing Fisker of stealing design ideas and trade secrets, but Lane says Tesla’s just trying to generate PR.

Lane went on to make the somewhat weird argument that “Henrik Fisker wouldn’t know a drivetrain from a glass of water. He is a car designer and doesn’t really deal with the drivetrain aspects.” Playing it dumb might be a good approach, but we thought the suit was less about drivetrains and more about design elements.

On the subject of Fisker’s design vs. Tesla’s design, Lane says:

There is nothing similar at all. Tesla is a tiny Roadster, you can almost put it on this table. Fisker is a very large car, a large sedan. One is a plug-in hybrid, and Tesla has always been designing an electric vehicle. Magna, a very large supplier, has sued Tesla, and in their suit has said, ‘We contracted to deliver transmissions to you for an electric vehicle.’ We can go on and on and on.

Oh please do! And send us all the details.