Tesla Inc. has filed a ‘trademark infringement’ suit against the Gurugram-based battery making company, Tesla Power for infringing their trademark rights, at the Delhi High Court.
The EV giant claims that not only it infringes on their trade mark but also advertises itself as an EV maker, hurting their market and brand reputation in the Indian market.
Tesla accuses of deceptively stealing its trademark
During the court proceeding this week, Tesla has argued that the defendant company is deceptively stealing its consumers, using the trademark in its brand name to promote products. Earlier in April 2022, it had issued a cease-and-desist notice to the latter but they continued with their advertisement, paying no heed to the legal warning. Later, they were forced to take a legal action against it, presently filing the lawsuit.
Tesla power in its defense said that their company marketed “lead acid batteries” only and has no intention to enter the EV market. Its representative told Reuters it has been present in India much before Musk’s Tesla and had all government approvals. “We have never claimed to be related to Elon Musk’s Tesla,” defendant Manoj Pahwa said.
Three weeks of time has been allocated to the defendants to submit written responses with the next court hearing scheduled on May 22.
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Musk’s Tesla Motors
Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors is headquartered in Texas with six vertically integrated factories installed across three continents. It aims at “accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy” through its electric vehicles and solar energy storage devices.
The company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhardt and Mark Tarping. A year later, Musk joined them as its board of directors chairman– presently its CEO. Currently, the multinational automotive company has a market cap of $574.02 bn and ranked in the list of 15 most valuable brands across all industries in 2023.
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The Gurugram based battery-making company – Defendant
Tesla Power India Pvt. Ltd. is based out of Gurgaon. Its global headquarters is in Delaware, USA. The company advertises itself as “a pioneer and leader in introducing affordable batteries with long life that has revolutionized the energy storage industry” and has a “very strong presence in India.” It specializes in manufacturing a wide range of batteries such as vehicle, inverter, solar, hybrid batteries etc.
The company’s mission, as found on its website, is “To be the number one brand in the energy storage industry and a benchmark for best culture practices by 2025 through innovation, with focus on quality sustainable products and affordable solutions, thereby enhancing value of our people, our stakeholders, our service network partners and community.”
