Tesla vs Tesla: Elon Musk’s company sues Indian name for trademark infringement

In its lawsuit, Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. said it is a multinational company operating and known under the name ‘Tesla’ registered under the laws of Delaware, United States of America. The lawsuit further claimed that plaintiff Tesla Inc. It has obtained registrations for its trademarks in various jurisdictions around the world. The plaintiff also claims to be in the business of innovative advanced battery technology. The EV manufacturer sent a cease and desist notice to the defendants on 18th April 2022, to which a holding response was issued by the defendant’s counsel on 2nd May 2022 and a detailed response was received by the defendant’s counsel on the 9th. May 2022. The automaker further stated that communications were exchanged in the months of August, September, November and December 2022 and from January to March 2023. As the defendants continued to advertise and market their goods, Tesla filed suit.

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Following this, a bench of Justice Anish Dayal of the Delhi High Court in an order dated 2nd May 2024 issued notice to Tesla Powers India Pvt Ltd and other respondents and listed the hearing on 22nd May 2024 for further hearing.

Tesla Powers India Private Limited manufactures lead acid batteries used in automobiles, inverters and UPS. Citing this reason, the company’s lawyer said that it does not manufacture any kind of electric vehicles. It was also stated that the advertisements that were issued were in respect of a marketing tie-up that they had with another manufacturer of EVs ‘E-Ashwa’. The counsel for the respondent further stated that the respondents have absolutely no intention of manufacturing EVs and will not market the EVs of other entities under their trademarks and tradenames.

Date of first publication: 05 May 2024, 08:37 AM IST