The Delhi High Court has reaffirmed its earlier directive restraining Tesla Power India from manufacturing or selling electric vehicles (EVs) and from using the term “Tesla” or any deceptively similar branding, while Tesla Inc’s trademark infringement lawsuit remains pending. The order was passed by Justice Tejas Karia.

Facts:

In May 2024, Tesla Inc informed the Court that Tesla Power India was misusing the TESLA trademark, pointing in particular to the company’s newspaper advertisements announcing its entry into the electric vehicle market. Tesla Inc explained that it had issued a cease-and-desist letter to Tesla Power India and Tesla Power USA in April 2022; but the companies continued using the Tesla brand in their advertisements and product marketing.

During the initial hearing, Tesla Power India's proprietor appeared in Court and assured that they have no intention to manufacture EVs at all and that they will not market other entities’ electric vehicles under the trademark or tradename ‘TESLA POWER USA’ or any other brand deceptively similar to the word ‘TESLA’.”

Despite this, subsequent allegations arose from Elon Musk’s Tesla, claiming that Tesla Power India had begun manufacturing electric scooters using the Tesla name.

In response, the court ordered, “In this situation, it would be appropriate if the defendants’ file an affidavit disclosing the EVs that are sold by them, as well as, the names of the dealers through which these are sold, the dates of launch, sales since launch, and the current stocks that are available with them. Affidavit will be placed on record or before the next date of hearing.”

A mediation was proposed after these developments, but it did not succeed, prompting the Court to resume hearings on the merits of the case.

Order awaited.

Appearance:

Senior Advocate Chander M Lall (with Advocates Nancy Roy, Raghav Malik, Prakriti Varshney, Lalit Alley, and Prashant) for Tesla Inc

Senior Advocate Sai Deepak (with Siddhant Goel and Mohit Goel from Sim & San) for Tesla Power India.

Case Title: Tesla Inc v. Tesla Power India