Techweb reported on May 21 that on Friday local time, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced that the electric vehicle manufacturer was setting up a "core Litigation Department" to "directly initiate litigation". The move sparked a lot of speculation because it happened just after the sexual harassment charges against musk. Musk announced on Twitter: "Tesla is setting up a core Litigation Department. We will directly initiate and execute litigation. This team will report directly to me."
Meanwhile, musk said that the core litigation team will focus on two things:
1) In the case of upholding justice, we will never seek victory, even if we are likely to win;
2) In unfair litigation, even if we may lose the lawsuit, we will never surrender.
This also reflects Musk's previous attitude towards litigation policy. He once said: "Tesla's policy is that it will never yield to false statements, even if we will lose; it will never fight with true statements, even if we will win."
Musk had previously said he would not compromise under any circumstances, which was tested in the lawsuit over the acquisition of solar panel company SolarCity. When investors sued Tesla for improper handling of the acquisition of SolarCity, all other defendants, including Tesla's board of directors, reached a settlement, with the exception of musk.
It was a strange time for musk to set up a special lawsuit against the victims of sexual harassment, but it was announced a day ago.
However, musk claimed that the new core litigation department belongs to Tesla. The electric vehicle manufacturer already has a complete and large legal department, including litigation lawyers, and in larger cases, it often cooperates with external law firms.
Tesla has always been involved in a variety of cases, including many more high-profile cases, such as the recent lawsuit against racial discrimination charges. The company was initially asked to pay $137 million in compensation, which was later reduced to $15 million.
Interestingly, in Musk's new statement, he mentioned Tesla's identity as the direct initiator of the lawsuit. Although Tesla will receive a lot of media attention when it is sued, it is well known that the company will also file a lawsuit, especially in cases involving intellectual property infringement.
Musk decided to set up a special litigation team for Tesla, which may be necessary in the long run. The company usually tends to remain silent, which makes it largely an outlet for skeptics and the media, which are full of negative reports about the company's innovations and projects. If Tesla has a dedicated litigation team, this situation may change.
For those who are interested in joining the team, they can use three to five points to describe themselves as evidence of extraordinary ability. At the same time, Tesla also wants to see links to cases in which job seekers have participated. However, it is unclear how the new team will cooperate with Tesla's current legal department.