Connect with us
tesla-china-model-3-logo tesla-china-model-3-logo

News

Tesla’s new legal head revealed as Twitter prepares to depose Elon Musk

Credit: Tesla Asia/Twitter

Published

on

Tesla has a new head for its legal department, according to recent filings for the Elon Musk versus Twitter case. The new head comes just as Twitter prepares to depose the Tesla CEO.

The new head of Tesla legal is Donna Eskin. She takes on the role of Senior Director of Legal at the company. 

“I have managerial responsibility over Tesla’s legal department, have sole authority to act in a leadership capacity over the department, and continue to serve in those roles through the present,” Eskin noted in an affidavit last month.

As per Bloomberg, Tesla doesn’t have a formal General Counsel. However, Eskin’s role as Senior Director of Legal has the same function and performs similar tasks as a General Counsel. 

Advertisement

“There is no Tesla employee with the formal title of ‘General Counsel,’ and my role as senior director of legal is functionally equivalent to the role commonly known as ‘General Counsel.’ It is well understood within Tesla that any references in Tesla’s internal documents to ‘General Counsel’ now refer to the senior director of legal,” Eskin said. 

Twitter to Depose Elon Musk

Eskin enters the Elon Musk versus Twitter case just as it is heating up. According to court filings on Tuesday, Twitter is preparing for a string of depositions in the coming weeks. 

Lawyers representing the social media company are planning to question Elon Musk in a deposition starting September 26. The deposition will last three days. Besides Musk, Twitter’s legal team also plans to depose the Tesla CEO’s “right-hand man” Jared Birchall and attorney Alex Spiro.

In the coming weeks, Musk and the social media company’s lawyers plan to depose founder and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Musk’s team intends to depose Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko—Twitter’s former head of security—next week. 

The judge ruling over the case ruled Musk could add to his claims based on the Twitter whistleblower’s information. Zatko’s made many claims against his former workplace, including “egregious deficiencies” in Twitter’s defense against hackers and privacy issues. The whistleblower’s claims, if proven factual, would mean Twitter had breached the terms of its merger agreement with Elon Musk. 

Advertisement

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Lemonade launches Tesla FSD insurance program in Oregon

The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.

Published

on

Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla drivers in Oregon can now receive significant insurance discounts when using FSD, following the launch of Lemonade’s new Autonomous Car insurance program. 

The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.

Lemonade launches FSD-based insurance in Oregon

In a post on X, Wininger confirmed that Lemondade’s Autonomous Car insurance product for Tesla is now live in Oregon. The program allows eligible Tesla owners to receive roughly 50% off insurance costs for every mile driven using Tesla’s FSD system.

“And… we’re ON. @Lemonade_Inc’s Autonomous Car for @Tesla FSD is now live in Oregon. Tesla drivers in Oregon can now get ~50% off their Tesla FSD-driven miles + the best car insurance experience in the US, bar none,” Wininger wrote in his post. 

Advertisement

As per Lemonade on its official website, the program is built on Tesla’s safety data, which indicates that miles driven using FSD are approximately twice as safe as those driven manually. As a result, Lemonade prices those miles at a lower rate. The insurer noted that as FSD continues to improve, associated discounts could increase over time.

How Lemonade tracks FSD miles

Lemonade’s FSD discount works through a direct integration with Tesla vehicles, enabled only with a driver’s explicit permission. Once connected, the system distinguishes between miles driven manually and those driven using FSD, applying the discount automatically to qualifying miles.

There is no minimum FSD usage requirement. Drivers who use FSD occasionally still receive discounted rates for those miles, while non-FSD miles are billed at competitive standard rates. Lemonade also emphasized that coverage and claims handling remain unchanged regardless of whether a vehicle is operating under manual control or FSD at the time of an incident.

The program is currently available only to Teslas equipped with Hardware 4 or newer, running firmware version 2025.44.25.5 or later. Lemonade also allows policyholders to bundle Tesla insurance with renters, homeowners, pet, or life insurance policies for additional savings.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla exec: Preparations underway but no firm timeline yet for FSD rollout in China

The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.

Published

on

Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has not set a specific launch date for Full Self-Driving in China, despite the company’s ongoing preparations for a local FSD rollout. 

The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.

Tesla China prepares FSD infrastructure

Speaking in a recent media interview, the executive confirmed that Tesla has established a local training center in China to support the full adaptation of FSD to domestic driving conditions, as noted in a report from Sina News. However, she also noted that the company does not have a specific date when FSD will officially roll out in China.

“We have set up a local training center in China specifically to handle this adaptation,” Tao said. “Once officially released, it will demonstrate a level of performance that is no less than, and may even surpass, that of local drivers.”

Advertisement

Tao also emphasized the rapid accumulation of data by Tesla’s FSD system, with the executive highlighting that Full Self-Driving has now accumulated more than 7.5 billion miles of real-world driving data worldwide.

Possible 2026 rollout

The Tesla executive’s comments come amidst Elon Musk’s previous comments suggesting that regulatory approval in China could arrive sometime this 2026. During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in November 2025, Musk clarified that FSD had only received “partial approval” in China, though full authorization could potentially arrive around February or March 2026.

Musk reiterated that timeline at the World Economic Forum in Davos, when he stated that FSD approval in China could come as early as February.

Tesla’s latest FSD software, version 14, is already being tested in more advanced deployments in the United States. The company has also started the rollout of its fully unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, which no longer feature safety monitors.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Tesla Semi lines up for $165M in California incentives ahead of mass production

The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.

Published

on

Credit: @HinrichsZane/X

Tesla is reportedly positioned to receive roughly $165 million in California clean-truck incentives for its Semi.

The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.

As per the Times, the Tesla Semi’s funding will come from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP), which was designed to accelerate the adoption of cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Since its launch in 2009, the HVIP has distributed more than $1.6 billion to support zero-emission trucks and buses across the state.

In recent funding rounds, nearly 1,000 HVIP vouchers were provisionally reserved for the Tesla Semi, giving Tesla a far larger share of available funding than any other automaker. An analysis by the Times found that even after revisions to public data, Tesla still accounts for about $165 million in incentives. The next-largest recipient, Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer, received roughly $68 million.

Advertisement

This is quite unsurprising, however, considering that the Tesla Semi does not have a lot of competition in the zero-emissions trucking segment.

To qualify for HVIP funding, vehicles must be approved by the California Air Resources Board and listed in the program catalog, as noted in an electrive report. When the Tesla Semi voucher applications were submitted, public certification records only showed eligibility for the 2024 model year, with later model years not yet listed.

State officials have stated that certification details often involve confidential business information and that funding will only be paid once vehicles are fully approved and delivered. Still, the first-come, first-served nature of HVIP means large voucher reservations can effectively crowd out competing electric trucks. Incentive amounts for the Semi reportedly ranged from about $84,000 to as much as $351,000 per vehicle after data adjustments. 

Unveiled in 2017, the Tesla Semi has seen limited deliveries so far, though CEO Elon Musk has recently reiterated that the Class 8 all-electric truck will enter mass production this year.

Advertisement
Continue Reading