Elon Musk announced today that Tesla is building a \u201chardcore litigation department\u201d to \u201cdirectly initiate and execute lawsuits.\u201d The timing of the effort is strange since it comes right after an allegation of sexual misconduct against the CEO.<\/p>\n
Musk made the announcement on Twitter:<\/p>\n
\nTesla is building a hardcore litigation department where we directly initiate and execute lawsuits. The team will report directly to me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
He said that the team will commit to two things:<\/p>\n
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- We will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win.<\/li>\n
- We will never surrender\/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This reflects previous comments made by Musk about his and Tesla\u2019s policy for litigations:<\/p>\n
\nTesla policy is never to give in to false claims, even if we would lose, and never to fight true claims, even if we would win.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Musk has previously said that he doesn\u2019t settle under any condition, and he put that policy to the test during a lawsuit over the acquisition of SolarCity. All other defendants, who consisted of Tesla\u2019s board, settled when investors sued over alleged mishandling of Tesla\u2019s SolarCity allegation except for Musk.<\/p>\n
The case went to trial last year, and Musk recently came out on top<\/a>.<\/p>\n
But the timing of the announcement is strange as it comes a day after an allegation of sexual misconduct came out against Musk that involved a reported settlement between the alleged victim and SpaceX over the situation.<\/p>\n
However, Musk is specifically talking about Tesla\u2019s legal department.<\/p>\n
Tesla already has an extensive legal department, including litigation lawyers, but it also works with outside firms in bigger cases.<\/p>\n
The company is always embroiled in many different cases before the courts, but it has been involved lately in some more high-profile cases, including a lawsuit over allegations of racial discrimination that resulted in a $137 million award that was later slashed to $15 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, in Musk\u2019s new statement, he mentions Tesla \u201cdirectly initiating\u201d lawsuits.<\/p>\n
While Tesla gets a lot of press when it is being sued, the automaker has also been known to file lawsuits, too, especially when it comes to cases of intellectual property theft<\/a>.<\/p>\n