Tesla’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Brandon Ehrhart, announced on March 29, that the company is looking to build a full-scale internal litigation and trial team on LinkedIn.
This move aims to streamline Tesla’s legal processes by handling all aspects of litigation and trial work, including briefings, hearings, discovery, depositions, and trials, completely in-house.
Ehrhart shared this development on LinkedIn, inviting experienced partners from top law firms to join the team and work towards Tesla’s mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
In response to a tweet shared by @SawyerMerritt highlighting the LinkedIn post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, commented today, “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.”
Musk added, “We’ll also go after the Wall St short-sellers, certain law firms & (sometimes) corrupt regulators who are the true evil.”
Some disagreed with the move, such as investor Gary Black, saying, “Sorry, but I find this approach dumb. Hiring a top PR team would cost far less and be far more effective. Good PR is proactive; legal recourse is reactive.”
“Apply online and see if you qualify for a team that 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,” concluded Ehrhart’s post.
Back in May 2022, Musk also said Tesla was hiring for a new “hardcore litigation department” that would “directly initiate & execute lawsuits. The team will report directly to me,” said Musk. This new search for lawyers may be part of that existing plan, to not only defend Tesla but also send a tough message to those that seek any legal fights.
