Musk opens hardcore litigation department at Tesla to fight lawsuits

San Francisco: Elon Musk on Saturday announced to open a litigation department at Tesla to initiate and execute lawsuits, as the electric car-maker is facing lawsuits over rampant sexually harassment at the workplace.

In a tweet, Musk said: “Tesla is building a hardcore litigation department where we directly initiate & execute lawsuits. The team will report directly to me. Please send 3 to 5 bullet points describing evidence of exceptional ability at justice@tesla.com”.

The move came as more women filed separate lawsuits in December last year against electric car-maker in the US for rampant sexually harassment, as Musk was accused of tweeting “lewd comment about women’s bodies or a taunt toward employees who report misconduct”.

The women alleged that they’re subject to a culture of sexual harassment at the workplace.

Musk on Friday refuted a media report that claimed SpaceX paid a female worker $250,000 to hush up sexual misconduct charges against its CEO, saying the report is meant to “interfere with” the $44 billion Twitter acquisition.

He earlier said that the attacks against him “should be viewed through a political lens”.

Musk said that while building the litigation department at Tesla, “we will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win”.

“We will never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose. Please include links to cases you have tried,” he posted to his over 94 million followers.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it would open a Special Crash Investigation (SCI) to find out more information on what potentially caused a three fatality crash involving a 2022 Tesla Model S earlier this month.

On May 12, a Model S sedan crashed into construction equipment in Newport Beach, California. Three people occupying the vehicle were killed, while three workers outside of the car were injured, according to police.