Tesla asked Cooley to fire a lawyer who worked with the SEC Elon Musk probe
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk unveils a new four-wheel drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California on October 9, 2014.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
A Tesla lawyer has asked a law firm to fire one of its lawyers or risk losing the job of electric car maker Elon Musk, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The lawyer that Tesla wanted Cooley LLP to fire previously worked for the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The lawyer interviewed Musk in the agency̵[ads1]7;s investigation into the Tesla boss’s claim from 2018 that he obtained funding to take Tesla private, according to the publication. The investigation led to a settlement in which Musk agreed to pay a $ 20 million fine and resign as Tesla chairman.
Tesla’s lawyer asked Cooley late last year to fire the lawyer who worked on the SEC investigation, the Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the case. The company did not remove the employee.
Tesla has moved to replace Cooley or hire more lawyers in more cases since December, according to the Journal.
Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has also stopped cooperating with the law firm on regulatory issues, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the case.
Tesla, SpaceX and Cooley did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Read the entire Journal Report here.
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