In the midst of talks about Tesla’s entry into India, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla Inc. filed a trademark infringement complaint against Gurugram-based Tesla Power India Ltd., according to a Delhi High Court record that was made public on Friday.
The Indian company has been accused by Tesla, which is based in Delaware, USA, of utilising the trade names “Tesla Power” and “Tesla Power USA.”
Tesla Power argued in court that it has no plans to produce electric vehicles “at all” and that it will not advertise other companies’ EVs under the trade name and trademark “Tesla Power USA” or any other name that is confusingly similar to it or that uses the word “Tesla.”
The automaker informed the judge that it tried to prohibit the Indian company from using its brand name after learning about it in 2022, which prompted it to bring the complaint.
According to a record copy, Tesla Inc. informed the court that “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.” The Indian firm turned over a collection of documents supporting its case, and the Delhi High Court judge granted it three weeks to file written reply, according to the court record. May 22 has been designated as the date of the case’s next hearing.
The legal matter arose after Musk postponed his eagerly anticipated trip to India on April 21 in order to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Musk surprised everyone by travelling to China a week later to advocate for an advanced driver assistance package.
According to Reuters, which cited a Tesla Power spokesperson, the company received the necessary regulatory approvals and was operating in India long before Musk founded Tesla.
For models of electric cars with a combined cost, insurance, and freight prices of $35,000 or above for five years, the Centre has lowered import duties to 15% from 100% in an effort to attract investments into the EV space. This is a crucial prerequisite for Tesla’s entry to test out the “market potential” in India.
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