Who is Christina Balan, Tesla whistleblower & cancer patient who won legal battle against Elon Musk

A Tesla whistleblower, who is currently battling stage 3B breast cancer, has won the latest round of a long-running legal battle against Elon Musk and his company Tesla. Engineer Cristina Balan lost her job at Tesla after she raised a safety concern in 2014 about a design flaw that could affect the cars' braking. Expressing her happiness on social media after winning the case, Balan said that it is the "first appeal that Musk and Tesla lost." “I cannot wait to see Musk and his goons on the stand and see how they will explain their lies and hate against me for doing the right thing,” she added.

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What is the case against Tesla?

According to Balan, when she raised the issue in 2014, her concerns were dismissed by managers, she was subjected to hostile treatment, and eventually dismissed from the job. She subsequently won a wrongful dismissal case. In 2019, Balan filed a defamation case against Tesla after being accused of embezzlement related to a “secret project.” Due to her contract that she had signed while working in Tesla, a court ruled that her case must be handled through arbitration.

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According to BBC, the arbitration dismissed her case and ruled in Elon Musk and Tesla's favour. However, Tesla moved to the California district court to have the order confirmed. Balan appealed against the order, and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the arbitration ruling, stating that California did not have the jurisdiction to make its judgement. This paves the way for Balan to continue her legal fight against Musk and his company.

Speaking to the BBC, Balan expressed her intent to take on Tesla and Elon Musk in open 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.

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She has previously spoken to the BBC and expressed that her primary concern was to see the case through before her final day. "I want to clear my name," she told BBC News last year."I wish Elon Musk had the decency to apologise," she added.

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