A federal appeals court has handed workers a notable win in the long-running fight over the reach of mandatory arbitration, ruling that Tesla’s California yard hostlers fall outside the Federal Arbitration Act. The decision allows their wage-and-hour claims to continue in state court rather than being diverted into private arbitration.

The key issue was whether these workers fit within the FAA’s transportation-worker exemption.

Tesla has filed a new inter partes review petition at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, opening IPR2026-00380 on June 18, 2026. At this early stage, the public docket identifies the proceeding under the caption Tesla Inc., but key details that practitioners will want to monitor—including the patent owner, the specific patent number, and the prior-art combinations asserted—may become clearer as the petition and related papers are added to the record.

Even with a limited docket snapshot, the filing itself is notable.

Tesla Inc. has filed a new inter partes review petition at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, opening IPR2026-00380 on June 18, 2026.

Tesla Inc. is the named petitioner in a newly filed inter partes review, IPR2026-00382, at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, adding another matter for practitioners tracking high-stakes validity disputes before the USPTO.