Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O) replaced its longtime law firm in a California class action, court records show. Tesla swapped a team from Cravath, Swaine & Moore with attorneys from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Cravath finalized its withdrawal from the consumer antitrust case last week. Tesla is fighting claims that it monopolized the market for parts and service for its vehicles, causing consumers to pay artificially higher prices.
New York’s Cravath, known for its Wall Street deals work and litigation, and Wilmer, one of Washington, D.C.’s most prominent firms, both have long represented Tesla or Musk. Court filings in the Tesla case do not provide a reason for the legal team shakeup. Tesla, Wilmer, and Cravath did not respond to requests for comment.
In June, a judge refused to dismiss the Tesla vehicle owners’ proposed class action. Wilmer attorneys made their first appearance for Tesla in court papers days later. On Monday, Tesla’s new legal team again denied the plaintiffs’ claims in a new filing.
Musk also has Cravath lawyers representing him in Delaware litigation challenging his $56 billion Tesla pay package. In that case, Musk and the firm faced a setback in January when a judge invalidated the billionaire entrepreneur’s “unfathomable” compensation. Tesla shareholders in June voted in support of Musk’s pay, but the vote did not end the Delaware case.
Late last month, lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, another go-to Musk law firm, joined the defense in the Delaware litigation. The Quinn team includes Alex Spiro, one of Musk’s most high-profile lawyers. Quinn Emanuel had no immediate comment about its role in the litigation.
Wilmer is already defending Tesla in an ongoing antitrust battle in New Orleans, where the firm asked a U.S. appeals court to revive the company’s lawsuit over the state’s direct-to-consumer sales ban for cars. The firm did not represent Tesla in the lower court. The Wilmer team for Tesla in the California class action includes partners David Gringer and Ari Holtzblatt. The departing Cravath team included David Marriott and Vanessa Lavely.
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