Musk’s Tesla Inc. Sues Indian Battery Maker Tesla Power For Trademark Infringement

Elon Musk’s automotive giant Tesla has filed a legal suit against Delhi NCR and the US-based battery company Tesla Power in the Delhi High Court over infringement of trademark and unfair trade competition.

As per the case documents available on the Delhi HC website, EV major Tesla first found in April 2022 that Tesla Power India Private Limited and its US-registered entity were using “impugned marks” which encompassed the Musk-led company’s trademark ‘TESLA’ in its entirety, in addition to the descriptive phrase ‘POWER USA’.

Besides, Tesla Inc. also highlighted that Tesla Power announced in 2021 that it entered into the electronic vehicles market, which is the core market of the former, via online promotional articles.

A screenshot of the article in an Indian publication that the HC recorded read, “Tesla announces bringing EV Scooters, charging stations to shops by 2025”.

However, an excerpt from a screenshot of Tesla Power’s website taken in the record by the court read: “Tesla Power USA LLC headquartered in Delaware USA has been acknowledged for being a pioneer and leader in introducing affordable batteries.”

A cease-and-desist notice was sent to the battery maker, Tesla Power, on April 18, 2022. During the hearing of the case this week, the HC noted that the present suit was filed as the company continued to advertise and market their goods.

However, Kavinder Khurana, the CEO of Tesla Power India Private Limited, informed the HC that Tesla Power USA Inc. does not exist anymore. Besides, he stated that Tesla Power is predominantly engaged in the business of lead acid batteries, which are supplied for automobiles, inverters, and UPS. The company does not manufacture any EVs of any nature whatsoever. 

Tesla Power further emphasised that the company has “no intention” to manufacture EVs 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’.

Reuters was the first to report the development. The next hearing in the trademark case is scheduled for May 22.

The development comes at a time when Musk’s Tesla is aggressively looking to enter the Indian market with its EV products and has been in discussions with the central government on import tax and other related matters for a long time.

It is also pertinent to note that a number of startups and tech companies have been involved in similar trademark infringement cases in recent years. In 2022, the Delhi HC permanently restrained a Bengaluru-based cakery from using the name ‘Facebake’ or ‘Facecake’, or any other Facebook-related trademark for its products and services.

Last year, Bengaluru-based startup Blinkhit filed a petition in a city civil court, seeking to restrain Zomato’s quick commerce major Blinkit from using the trademark. Later, the Zomato-owned company received a reprieve from the Supreme Court in the matter on a plea filed by Blinkhit.