Tesla Legal Expands Its Full-Scale Internal Litigation & Trial Team

Image: Tesla

Tesla Legal is expanding its full-scale internal litigation and trial team that can handle all aspects of “litigation and trial work, including briefings, hearings, discovery, deposits and trials, completely in-house.”

About a year ago, Elon Musk announced that Tesla was creating a hardcore litigation department whose main goal would be to seek justice, not victory at any cost. He was spurred to this decision by the fact that Tesla has been the subject of numerous lawsuits in its two decades of existence. The company actively resisted unfair accusations in court, defending its good name. However, now the manufacturer wants to go on the offensive and move from defense to attack.

In early February 2023, it became known that Tesla had hired Brandon Ehrhart as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. The company said he will continue in a leadership role with Tesla Legal as the manufacturer builds a “world-class team.” Ehrhart oversees Tesla's legal department, which Elon Musk called the “hardcore litigation department” when he announced its creation in the spring of 2022.

Now Ehrhart is looking to expand his team and posted on LinkedIn last week. He appealed to those who enjoy handling sophisticated litigation and trials but are frustrated by internal issues like conflicts and passing on work for clients they love. Ehrhart explained that Tesla Legal is creating something unique: “a full-scale internal litigation and trial team that can handle all aspects of litigation and trial work, including briefings, hearings, discovery, deposits and trials, completely in-house.”

To become part of the team, you need to apply online. After that, a person will be able to find out if they are suitable for teamwork or not. Ehrhart wrote that the Tesla Legal team “handles cutting-edge and sophisticated legal work itself with NO conflicts. Because we are one team with one mission: to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.”

In response to the news posted by Sawyer Merritt on Twitter about this, Musk replied that Tesla will continue to bring in external lawyers to resolve legal issues. However, the company believes it is important to build a strong litigation team within the company that will go on the offensive if need be.

Musk said that once the team is formed, the company will “go after the Wall Street short-sellers, certain law firms & (sometimes) corrupt regulators who are the true evil.” Over the years, short sellers have deliberately created problems for Tesla by filing unfounded lawsuits and complaints, and constantly creating a negative environment around the manufacturer. Their goal is to bring down the value of Tesla shares when it suits them. In fact, they are manipulating the market for their own profit, harming the company's investors and Tesla itself.

Tesla will continue to use outside litigators, but it’s important to build a powerful litigation team internally, so that we’re not always on the defensive.

We’ll also go after the Wall St short-sellers, certain law firms & (sometimes) corrupt regulators who are the true evil.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2023

© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

_____________________________

We appreciate your readership! Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter

Follow @EvaFoxU