Former Apple Engineer Pleads Guilty For Trying To Flee With Self-Driving Car Plans To China

A former Apple Inc AAPL engineer who downloaded plans related to a circuit board for the company’s self-driving vehicle has reportedly pleaded guilty to trade secret theft.

What Happened: Xiaolang Zhang had first pleaded not guilty to the charges but reached a plea deal with prosecutors and changed his plea to guilty, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing court documents.

The plea deal is reportedly sealed and sentencing is set for November this year.

Apple learned that the former engineer had been employed by X-Motors, a China-based company focused on electric automobiles and autonomous vehicle technology, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Zhang’s computer activity was forensically analyzed by Apple after the latter made his intention to quit the Tim Cook-led company, according to the Justice Department.

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Why It Matters: Zhang was arrested at the San Jose airport after going through a security checkpoint, prosecutors said.

The 33-year-old former Apple engineer purchased a last-minute flight ticket to Beijing with a final destination to Hangzhou.

Prosecutors said that Zhang allegedly took a confidential 25-page document containing “detailed schematic drawings of a circuit board” that were meant for Apple’s autonomous vehicle.

This year EV manufacturer Tesla Inc TSLA filed a lawsuit against a former engineer alleging theft of “tightly guarded” trade secrets as well. 

Price Action: On Monday, Apple shares closed 2.3% lower at $167.57 in the regular session and rose 0.2% in extended trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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