The car company Tesla is suing the manufacturer of Tesla batteries for the misuse of its name, but who actually has the right to it?

When you think of Tesla today, most people probably think of the American car company more than anything else. But this alone does not mean that she has the sovereign right to use this designation, but she borrowed it herself.

“Only at the electrical engineering oar, Tesla could sit for some time yet,” sings Pavel Dobeš – by the way, a trained electrical engineer himself – in one of his well-known songs. Originally from Croatia, the inventor is a famous historical figure, and it was from him that the American company borrowed its name, which in recent years has become the most important manufacturer of electric cars in the world.

Its fame has always far exceeded its real market position, so on the one hand it is not surprising that it protects its brand, it is certainly valuable. Regarding the latter, however, one must ask how much protection can be afforded to a company that has “stolen” its own label from entities that do the same thing in principle. Elon Musk, who actually didn’t even found Tesla, rather controlled it later, after all, he is far from the first to name a company after Nikola Tesla.

Finally, we also have one Tesla. Formally, it is an abbreviated designation of its former main focus (Youcroak slaboproudá), but probably no reasonable person believes that this name was created by chance, especially since “Czech Tesla” was born not long after Tesla’s death. Either way, it has existed since 1946, that is, since the days when even Musk’s mother did not pull a duck. So we cannot imagine that an American car company would ever succeed in a lawsuit to protect its name in the Czech Republic, rather the opposite situation may arise.

However, the Czech Republic will not be discussed today, a similar “conflict” has now occurred in India. They also have their own Tesla there, the company Tesla Power, which is not in the same field, so theoretically both companies could work side by side, but when trying to enter the important Indian market, American car companies do not like the fact that in the most populous country in the world someone else to prey on her reputation. Tesla Power makes, among other things, starter batteries for conventional cars, and that seems too close to the Americans to let it go.

Since 2022, Tesla Power has been trying to get the company to change its name, but it has consistently refused, as Reuters reports. The whole matter will have to be decided by a court in New Delhi, from which the car company expects to prevent Tesla Power from continuing to use “its” name and to decide on damages in favor of the Americans.

The judge gave the Indian company three weeks to submit written arguments in its defence. Publicly, the Indians claim that both in the domestic market and in general, they have existed and operated longer than the car company itself, moreover, it produces simple lead batteries, which has nothing to do with either electric cars or Tesla batteries, moreover, it has no plans to change it. The piquancy, however, is that Indians also control the company Tesla Power USA, based in Delaware, USA, where the plaintiff Tesla Inc. is also registered. But this matter is not the subject of the current change.

Only time will tell how the court will deal with the matter, the decision could be made as early as the end of May. However, as we mentioned earlier, at least on the moral level, it is a complicated case because Nkola Tesla himself did not entrust his name to anyone, and all companies refer to him only out of their own will. In such a situation, it is really difficult to say who is in the right, although the notoriety of the car company Tesla will certainly always work in its favor.

It would be quite interesting to find out how many people think of the Croatian inventor and how many of the American automaker when they hear the name Tesla. One way or another, deciding who gets to use the name more will always be a hot topic. Illustration photo: Tesla

Source: informs Reuters

Peter Miller

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