June 13 (Reuters) - A Canadian resident of China pleaded

guilty in New York federal court on Thursday to stealing Tesla

electric-vehicle battery manufacturing trade secrets

and conspiring to sell them to undercover government agents,

according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Klaus Pflugbeil, 58, the operator of a China-based business

that sells technology used in electric vehicles, faces up to 10

years in prison for plotting with business partner Yilong Shao

to sell Tesla's secrets to FBI agents posing as Long Island

businesspeople, the department said in a statement.

Neither Pflugbeil's attorney nor representatives for Tesla

immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment. Shao, who

was also charged but remains at large, could not be reached for

comment.

"With his guilty plea, Pflugbeil is now being held

accountable for this unlawful conduct that jeopardized our

national security," U.S. Assistant Attorney General Matthew

Olsen said in a statement.

Pflugbeil, who is also a citizen of Germany, was charged in

New York in March. Prosecutors said Pflugbeil and Shao built

their EV battery business on trade secrets from a "leading

U.S.-based electric vehicle company."

Prosecutors did not name the company but said it acquired a

Canada-based manufacturer of battery-assembly lines in 2019,

which matches the description of Tesla's acquisition of Canadian

company Hibar.

Thursday's statement said that Pflugbeil and Shao both

worked for the Canadian company before Pflugbeil joined Shao's

business in 2020. DOJ said that the unnamed business now has

locations in China, Canada, Germany and Brazil, making the same

battery-assembly equipment as their previous employer.