Tesla Powerwall Accused of Ripping Off Patented Inverter Design

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. was accused of infringing a Texas inventor’s patented battery-storage technology with its Powerwall and Powerwall+ home backup power systems in a new lawsuit.

Relink US LLC, a Dallas-area company founded by inventor Paul Garrity, alleges the Powerwall systems “incorporate fundamental technologies” covered by one of his solar battery patents, “including its home backup systems that include inverters,” according to the complaint filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Garrity holds more than 40 patents on various solar and energy technologies, including “numerous patented inventions” for which Tesla is already ...