Current Events > Tesla demanded law firm fire associate who worked for SEC

(+) Yeah! (+)

A partner at law firm Cooley LLP got an unexpected call late last year from a lawyer for one of the firms most famous clients, Elon Musks Tesla Inc., TSLA 1.75% with an ultimatum.

The worlds richest man wanted Cooley, which was representing Tesla in numerous lawsuits, to fire one of its attorneys or it would lose the electric-vehicle companys business, people familiar with the matter said.

The target of Mr. Musks ire was a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer whom Cooley had hired for its securities litigation and enforcement practice and who had no involvement in the firms work for Tesla. At the SEC, the attorney had interviewed Mr. Musk during the agencys investigation of the Tesla chief executives 2018 tweet claiming, wrongly, to have secured funding to potentially take the electric-vehicle maker private.

The probe resulted in a settlement in which Mr. Musk agreed to resign as chairman and pay a $20 million fine. He also agreed to have a Tesla lawyer review in advance tweets about certain topics, including the companys financial results, sales numbers and proposed business combinations.

Cooley has declined to fire the attorney, who remains an associate at the firm, the people said. Since early December, Tesla has begun taking steps in several cases to replace Cooley or add additional counsel, legal documents show. Mr. Musks rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corp., also known as SpaceX, has stopped using Cooley for regulatory work, according to people familiar with the matter.

Neither Tesla, SpaceX, nor Mr. Musk responded to requests for comment.

The interaction with Cooley points to a bigger pattern for Mr. Musk: Long dismissive of regulators, he has recently aimed his ire at individuals with ties to regulatory agencies with which he has sparred.

Often, he expresses his displeasure on Twitter, where he has roughly 70 million followers. His comments often lead to an online army rallying to his cause.

This past fall, he turned his sights on a longtime critic of Teslas advanced driver-assistance technology, Mary Missy Cummings, a researcher on how people interact with autonomous systems who was named as an adviser to the top U.S. auto safety regulator.

The agency had just opened an investigation into Teslas advanced driver-assistance technology after a series of crashes in which Teslas ran into one or more parked emergency vehicles. Such probes can lead to recalls, and this was shaping up to be one of the agencys most extensive investigations to date of advanced driver-assistance technology.

Dr. Cummings, a Duke University engineering professor, had been critical of Teslas advanced driver-assistance system known as Autopilot. A study published last year that she co-wrote found that the companys technology, which doesnt make vehicles autonomous, performed inconsistently.

Tesla has said that driving with Autopilot engaged is safer than doing so without it.

Mr. Musk, once her appointment became public, tweeted: Objectively, her track record is extremely biased against Tesla. A barrage of online attacks on Dr. Cummings by Tesla supporters ensued, several of them vulgar.

A petition launched on Change.org called on the agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to rescind her appointment over a perceived conflict of interest. The petition, which has since been removed from the platform, received tens of thousands of signatures.

Mr. Musk, once her appointment became public, tweeted: Objectively, her track record is extremely biased against Tesla. A barrage of online attacks on Dr. Cummings by Tesla supporters ensued, several of them vulgar.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

Why is this a story?

Theres nothing illegal about what Tesla did.

It really should be illegal.

The cult of personality around Tech Giants and billionaires is God damn stupid. They have done nothing to earn your deification.

It really should be illegal.

Asking a company to fire someone?

Lol what the fuck?

No. It isnt even really that shitty of a thing. Its more CE not living in the real world. And Elon is a shitty person.

While I don't particularly feel it should be illegal, I can't see how you can claim it isn't "that shitty"

It's really shitty. Absurdly so.

Its not. Tesla is a potential client for services provided by the law firm. If the law firm has someone that Tesla dont trust working on their cases why would Tesla consent to that working relationship? Its not blackmail or shitty to say, we arent going to use your services until you make it so we can trust that you will represent us to the fullest and the only way that will happen is if you get rid of the problem.

Tesla is the one with the leverage here. Not using it would be a risk to the company and shareholders. There are hundreds of law firms that would jump to rep Tesla.

Shut the fuck up. It's a shitty thing and should be illegal, and anyone who defends it is a terrible person. End of fucking story.

Tesla is a potential client for services provided by the law firm. If the law firm has someone that Tesla dont trust working on their cases why would Tesla consent to that working relationship?

Tesla is the one with the leverage here. Not using it would be a risk to the company and shareholders. There are hundreds of law firms that would jump to rep Tesla.

He wasn't working on Tesla cases.

True. But my point doesn't change. If they didnt feel they could get great service they are free to try to offer a solution. Not doing so is worse for the obligation they owe to their shareholders.

Conflicts of interest are very common issues in representation by law firms and trying to solve them, whether its by walling employees off, it asking for them to be fired, isn't that uncommon.

And again, Im not defending Elon specifically. This is just an article about something that happens more often than CE thinks and with good reason.

I said, shut the fuck up. He's retaliating against someone who held him accountable. That is scummy as hell and should 100% be illegal.

If they didnt feel they could get great service they are free to try to offer a solution. Not doing so is worse for the obligation they owe to their shareholders.

Conflicts of interest are very common issues in representation by law firms and trying to solve them, whether its by walling employees off, it asking for them to be fired, isn't that uncommon.

True. But my point doesn't change. If they didnt feel they could get great service they are free to try to offer a solution. Not doing so is worse for the obligation they owe to their shareholders.

Conflicts of interest are very common issues in representation by law firms and trying to solve them, whether its by walling employees off, it asking for them to be fired, isn't that uncommon.

And again, Im not defending Elon specifically. This is just an article about something that happens more often than CE thinks and with good reason.

If the law firm has someone that Tesla dont trust working on their cases

*makes an argument entirely based on the incorrect assumption that the lawyer would be working on Tesla cases*

They werent working on Tesla cases at all.

Doesnt change my point!

Right (sort of). The argument wasnt conditioned on the specific attorneys actions. Its about the law firm and the expectations of fair representation.

Another truth bomb for some: attorneys at law firms work together and talk to each other so even when some are not working on a case they may provide input to the attorney that is.