Tesla’s longtime vice president of legal and acting general counsel, Al Prescott, has left the electric vehicle and renewable energy company to join Luminar, a lidar company.
The move is remarkable in many ways. For the first time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long insisted that member technology, or range and tracking sensors, is too expensive and not necessary for the development of autonomous vehicles. However, Prescott’s move to Luminar, where he will serve as chief legal officer, is an endorsement of the technology.
Prescott said in a statement to CNBC:
“Luminar is a pioneer in safety-critical technology that will strengthen our autonomous future. As someone who has dedicated my career to car safety and innovation, I look forward to helping Luminar take it to the next level and fulfill its mission. to make transportation safer for everyone. “
Bill Berry, currently Tesla’s head of litigation, who joined in October 2020 and previously worked time at Google, is expected to head the Tesla division, but not accept the role of general counsel according to people familiar with the matter with the case.
Another change at the top of Tesla’s legal department could be a challenge at a time when the company is facing new cases, federal sins and trials, which have long been delayed due to Covid’s impact on US courts.
Tesla lost three general advices in 2018 and 2019. Earlier in the year, in December 2018, Todd Maron, Musk’s biggest lawyer for the previous four years, left the company. Dane Butswinkas took over, but his term of office lasted only about two months, and Jonathan Chang took over as general counsel, but left in December 2019. The company has since not appointed another top lawyer, and Prescott serves as vice president of the law and acting general. Council.
Last year, Tesla was to be sued over shareholders’ claims that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had forced his electric vehicle company to acquire a suspected illiquid solar power company, SolarCity, for more than $ 2 billion in order to benefit himself and family members. with more than a year. The original start date of the trial was for March 2020 and is expected to start by the summer.
On March 8, 2021, a shareholder named Chase Gharrity filed a lawsuit accusing Musk of exposing Tesla to potentially billions in liabilities and market losses through its volatile posts on Twitter, although he and Tesla had earlier reached a settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange. Commission requiring CEO to approve tweets in advance if it contains information that is important to Tesla shareholders.
In the new complaint, Gharrity is calling on Tesla’s board because they have not appointed general attorneys at Tesla who can hold Musk to the security legislation and the terms of their SEC settlement agreement.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Prescott “provided guidance to Tesla’s executives and board of directors” and “led all legal operations in North America, Europe and Asia” to help the company through challenges in the automotive and energy industries.
Prescott’s name and face may be known to fans of the company – he kicked off Tesla’s 2020 annual shareholders’ meeting and battery day. He also signed correspondence on behalf of Tesla in response to the Federal Vehicle Safety Authority (NHTSA) which has the power to investigate safety complaints from the public, and to compile reminders if they deem a vehicle or part unsafe.
Prior to joining Tesla, Prescott had a long history in the car, including as a senior advocate for autonomous vehicles at Uber, which handles regulatory, litigation, commercial, privacy and cyber security issues there. He also worked for more than a decade as a lawyer at Ford Motor Company after spending a year there as a collision safety engineer.
Luminar also announced that it has appointed a new Vice President of Investor Relations, Trey Campbell, a 20-year veteran of Intel. Campbell held the same role at the semiconductor company before jumping to the lidar manufacturer. Intel’s Mobileye unit is a Luminar partner.
Luminar is a company backed by Peter Thiel, and now a public company that started trading under the symbol LAZR on the Nasdaq in December 2020, following an agreement with SPAC Gores Metropoulos.