Cogenra sues SolarCity for stealing technology secrets

San Francisco

SOLARCITY Corp, the rooftop solar developer controlled by Elon Musk, was accused of misappropriating trade secrets and other intellectual property in a lawsuit over the development of shingled-cell solar modules.

SolarCity got a head start in developing the modules after SunPower Corp's Cogenra Solarunit shared its shingling technology for manufacturing solar panels, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday in San Francisco federal court. Cogenra said in the complaint that it shared confidential information with Silevo Inc, which was later acquired by SolarCity.