Elon Musk Used Genius Method To Identify Tesla Employee Who Was Leaking Confidential Information

Elon Musk taught his employees a valuable lesson about not crossing him when he devised a clever way to catch a Tesla employee leaking confidential information.

From Tesla to SpaceX and Neuralink, Musk is often eager to share details about his ventures through another of his companies, X.

The entrepreneur regularly posts updates and successes for the world to see, but there are some details he prefers to keep under wraps.

One former Tesla employee made that difficult by leaking confidential information.

The leak happened in 2008, five years after Tesla was founded.

In 2022, a curious X user wanted more information about the leak. 

The leaker was sharing secrets with a news outlet. Apu Gomes/Getty Images

They tagged Musk in a post, writing:  "Elon in 2008 how did you catch that employee who leaked the confidential data of Tesla and sold it to the news outlet?"

Musk responded, describing it as an 'interesting story' before revealing the ingenious method his team used to identify the culprit.

He explained: "We sent what appeared to be identical emails to all, but each was actually coded with either one or two spaces between sentences, forming a binary signature that identified the leaker."

By matching this unique signature in the leaked information, Musk was able to track down the person responsible.

X users praised the tactic as 'smart', with one person asking Musk who had come up with the idea.

Musk responded, claiming the method as his own, though it falls into a category known as a 'canary trap'.

For those unfamiliar, this method involves creating multiple versions of a sensitive document and giving them to different suspects.

Elon Musk said he came up with the idea himself. X/@elonmusk

This makes it easier to identify which version gets leaked.

Once the case was solved, the person responsible for leaking the confidential information was let go from Tesla.

Or, as Musk put it, they were 'invited to further their career elsewhere'.

However, Musk decided against taking legal action against the individual.

Explaining his decision, Musk said he was simply 'too busy trying to survive at the time'.

Musk's ability to catch the leaker last time will hopefully deter any of his employees from trying to outsmart him again in the future.

He might be on more solid ground now when it comes to his 'survival', but the lesson remains clear.

By sharing this story, Musk has shown that he is always thinking ahead and has no qualms about using creative methods to protect his companies.