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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A former Tesla Motors
TSLA.O engineer has been charged in federal court with felony
computer intrusion for allegedly accessing his manager's email
account, sharing employee evaluations with others and posting
confidential information on the Web.
Nima Kalbasi, a 28-year-old Canadian, then "tried to harm
Tesla's reputation and credibility by making false and
misleading comments," the Federal Bureau of Investigation said
in a statement on Thursday.
Kalbasi, who had worked as a mechanical engineer for the
electric vehicle maker, which is based in Palo Alto, California,
was arrested in Vermont on Aug. 24. He appeared in U.S. District
Court in San Jose, California, on Aug. 27, the FBI said.
A lawyer for Kalbasi declined comment.
If convicted, Kalbasi faces a maximum of five years in
prison for two felony counts of computer intrusion and one year
for a count of misdemeanor computer intrusion.
Tesla could not be immediately reached for comment.