EV startup Karma would like DeLorean to go back in time and not steal its trade secrets

The effort toelectrify an icon has run into a speedbump. The Texas-based company that holds the branding rights for the original DeLorean Motor Company is being sued by an electric vehicle company.

There was a joint venture between the two that didn't pan out. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Electric versions of the revived ’80s sports car will be sold by the company.

According to the lawsuit, talks between Karma and DMC began in 2020 around the goal toelectrify DMC's famed DeLorean vehicle, which would have helped both companies to speed into the future. The movie Back to the Future featured a time machine.

The defendants formed their own venture after the joint venture fell through. The lawsuit states that they furtively took confidential information. They hid information from the project to keep it from being pursued. They went one by one.

De Vries said that the potential Karma/DMC project died due to Karma's inability to fund or produce deliverables needed to move forward talks with DMC. There is a completely new entity with a completely new electric vehicle. The court is expected to see through this litigation in a short time.

After the San Antonio City Council approved a $562,500 incentive package for DMC in April, the company was given the go-ahead to apply for $1.25 million in tax refunds for setting up its headquarters in the city. The package requires DMC to create 450 jobs by the end of the year.

Fisker Karma's assets were purchased by a Chinese company called Wanxiang, which led to the creation of a new automotive company called Karma. The Revero is a hybrid sports car that was spun up as a small lineup of cars. The company has ambitions to build and sell all-electric vehicles, but has struggled to find its footing.

This isn't the first lawsuit. Two years ago, the company filed a lawsuit against the Ohio-based electric-truck firm, accusing it of stealing trade secrets.