Elon Musk’s Tesla files trademark infringement case against Gurugram-based Tesla Power | CPT PPP Coverage

In its defence, Tesla Power told the court that the company has no intention to manufacture EVs “at all” and will not market other entities’ EVs as well under their trademark and tradename ‘Tesla Power USA’ or any other brand deceptively similar or use the word ‘Tesla’. The carmaker told the court that it discovered the Indian company was using its brand name in 2022 and tried to stop it from doing so, forcing it to file the lawsuit.

“..a cease-and-desist notice was sent on 18th April 2022 to the defendant (Tesla Power)..since defendants continued to advertise and market their goods, the present suit was filed,” Tesla Inc told the court as per the record copy. The Delhi High Court judge allowed the Indian firm three weeks to submit written responses after it handed over a set of documents in support of its defence, the court record showed. The next hearing of the case has been set for May 22.

The case comes after Musk cancelled his much awaited visit to India on April 21 to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A week later, Musk made a surprise visit to China to push for an advanced driver assistance package.

Quoting a Tesla Power representative, Reuters reported that it has been present in India much before Musk’s Tesla and had all government approvals.

To attract investments into the EV space, the Centre has lowered import duties to 15 per cent from 100 per cent for models of electric cars with a combined cost, insurance, freight prices of $35,000 or above for five years, a key precondition for Tesla’s entry to test out the “market potential” in India.