Tesla slammed by judge after pushing for arrest of NSW man – report

A Federal Court judge has rejected attempts by Tesla to have a man from New South Wales arrested, after he allegedly defied court orders.

Tesla filed a lawsuit in recent weeks in an attempt to have leaked whistleblower documents taken down from the internet, which the company alleges had been uploaded by the man, Lawyerly reports.

Representatives for the US electric car company told a Federal Court in Melbourne he failed to comply with the court's orders – alleging the man continued to publish the material on social media after the judge ordered it be taken down – and sought to have an arrest warrant issued for contempt of court.

"It's completely unrealistic for you to expect me to issue a warrant for arrest or bring on as a matter of urgency something serious like a matter of contempt," Justice Beach told Tesla's legal counsel.

According to the report, the judge went on to call the man's arrest a "draconian step".

MORE: NSW man taken to Federal Court by Tesla over leaked whistleblower files

It's understood the 23,000 leaked documents – dubbed The Tesla Files by German newspaper Handelsblatt – contained thousands of reports of customer complaints, unsafe driving incidents, and crashes, which had been stolen by a former employee before being uploaded to the internet.

Tesla's lawyers said they believed the NSW man – who is alleged to be in possession of the leaked files – would continue to defy the court's orders as long he continued to hold an account online.

However, they conceded the material had been successfully removed from social media by the moderators of the platform on which it was posted.

"If that's all taken down, doesn't the so-called apparent urgency of your contempt application evaporate?" Justice Beach asked.

"We have every reason to believe he will defile the [court order]," a lawyer for Tesla told the court, "which is why we wanted it dealt with urgency."

MORE: The Tesla Files – Whistleblower exposes potential ‘Autopilot’ dangers

"My client is in an invidious position where [the NSW man] has this material, is threatening non-compliance with the court's orders and we're left to play whack-a-mole."

Tesla's application to have the man arrested was refused by the judge, while the injunction was extended for 28 days or until further ordered – while the contempt of court allegation against the NSW man would be dealt with at a later date.

The man, from Crescent Head in the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, did not appear for the hearing at the Melbourne court.