Tesla suing Indian company for using its name
Tesla is suing an Indian battery maker for copyright infringement over the use of the brand name “Tesla Power” to promote its products.
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction from the company from a judge in New Delhi.
According to details of the proceedings posted on the court website on Friday, Tesla said the battery maker had continued to use the brand name despite a cease-and-desist notice sent in April 2022.
It comes amid swathes of layoffs at the US-based car manufacturer, which have impacted at least 500 employees. As recently as Monday it was announced that the Tesla team responsible for constructing electric charging stations was to be axed.
Tesla’s senior director of US HR, Allie Arebalo, reportedly also left her position recently, though it was unclear whether this was part of the cuts, or a decision by Ms Arebalo herself.
The lawsuit in New Delhi comes after the Elon Musk-owned EV manufacturer continues to lay off hundreds of employees, following slumping sales (AFP via Getty Images)
During this week’s hearing in New Delhi, the Indian company, Tesla Power India Pvt Ltd, argued its main business is to make “lead acid batteries” and has no intention of making electric vehicles, Reuters reported.
The judge has allowed the Indian firm three weeks to submit written responses after it handed over a set of documents in support of its defence. Mr Musk’s Tesla is incorporated in Delaware, and it has accused the Indian company of using trade names “Tesla Power” and “Tesla Power USA”.
The case will next be heard on May 22.
The court record included screenshots of a website that showed that Tesla Power USA LLC was also headquartered in Delaware and had been “acknowledged for being a pioneer and leader in introducing affordable batteries” with “a very strong presence in India”.
A Tesla Power representative told Reuters it had been present in India much before Mr Musk’s Tesla company and had all government approvals. “We have never claimed to be related to Elon Musk’s Tesla,” Tesla Power’s Manoj Pahwa said, per Reuters.
Tesla told the judge it discovered the Indian company was using its brand name in 2022 and had unsuccessfully tried to stop it from doing so, forcing it to file the lawsuit.
Mr Musk also recently cancelled his planned visit to India on April 21 to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead, he made a surprise visit to China, seen by many as a snub to India.
Tesla said the Indian battery-maker had continued to use the brand name ‘Tesla Pwer’ to promote its products, despite a cease-and-desist notice sent in April 2022 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
It comes after Tesla experienced a recent sales slump, with the company reporting a 55 per cent drop in profit in its first quarter. On Tuesday, Tesla stock dropped five per cent, following a previous decline of below $150 per share.
Earlier this month the manufacturer was forced to discount five of their models by $5,000 earlier this month. In the same week, Tesla announced it would be eliminating 10 per cent of its workforce, which totalled about 14,000 jobs across the globe.
Following the announcement about its electric vehicle charging station construction team, New York City rideshare and EV charging company Revel has expressed interest in the real estate.
Frank Reig, the CEO and co-founder of Revel, told InsideEVs, that as the company expands its fast-charger network it is looking to potentially build at several of the sites that Tesla has stepped away from.
“Tesla has left some really good sites on the table in New York,” Mr Reig told the outlet.
“They’re power-ready, have good landlords and are in the right locations to get a lot of use, particularly from rideshare drivers. Those kinds of sites are super rare. We’re definitely interested in filling that opening.”
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