

Investor's Corner
Tesla announces new General Counsel ahead of Q4’s end-of-quarter Model 3 push
Tesla has announced that it is welcoming Dane Butswinkas, the Chairman of Williams & Connolly and a veteran trial lawyer, as the company’s new General Counsel. Dane will be replacing Todd Maron, who has led Tesla’s legal department for the past five years. The outgoing Maron will remain in Tesla until January to ensure a smooth handover of his responsibilities to the new General Counsel.
In a blog post about the new appointment, Tesla noted that the company and Maron have worked on a plan for the handover since July 2018. Maron has had a long history with Elon Musk, having served as the CEO’s divorce attorney even before he was hired as Tesla’s General Counsel. In a statement, Maron noted that his tenure with the electric car maker had been a noteworthy experience.
“Being part of Tesla for the last five years has been the highlight of my career. Tesla has been like family to me, and I am extremely grateful to Elon, the board, the executive team, and everyone at Tesla for allowing me to play a part in this incredible company,” the outgoing General Counsel said.
Dane Butswinkas will be bringing decades of legal experience to Tesla. The seasoned trial lawyer has served almost 30 years at Williams & Connolly, where he worked as a Co-Chair of the legal firm’s Commercial Litigation and Financial Services and Banking Groups. Tesla notes that Dane will be reporting directly under Elon Musk, as he oversees the company’s legal and government relations teams.
In a statement about his new position, Dane noted that he never really expected to work as an in-house General Counsel for a company. That said, the trial lawyer stated that Tesla’s mission is something that he believes to be essential — and thus, worth fighting for.
“Williams & Connolly will always have been my first home. The lawyers there are the finest in the world. After 30 years as a trial lawyer at Williams & Connolly, I would have never imagined joining a company in-house. But Tesla presents a unique and inspiring opportunity. Tesla’s mission is bigger than Tesla – one that is critical to the future of our planet. It’s hard to identify a mission more timely, more essential, or more worth fighting for,” he said.
Dave Butswinkas’ appointment as General Counsel stands as one of Tesla’s notable executive shakeups in recent months. Just last month, Tesla also announced that finance veteran Robyn Denholm was replacing Elon Musk as the company’s Chair of the Board. Denholm’s appointment was part of Elon Musk’s settlement with the SEC, following the latter’s lawsuit over the CEO’s “funding secured” tweet last August.
The announcement of Tesla’s new General Counsel comes as the company prepares for a widespread push for the Model 3 this December. Tesla has exhibited a tendency to push Model 3 production and deliveries in the final month of a quarter. During March and June, for example, Tesla adopted this strategy to hit its targets of producing 2,500 and 5,000 Model 3 per week, respectively. In the third quarter, which was marked by what Elon Musk described as “delivery logistics hell,” the final month of Q3 was characterized by a massive, community-driven push to handover as many vehicles as possible.
With Q4 being the final quarter where Model 3 buyers can qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit, the number of electric cars that Tesla will deliver this December would likely be historic once more. Elon Musk even announced that Tesla had acquired trucking companies and services to ensure that those who placed orders for the Model 3 would take delivery of their vehicles before the end of December.
Ultimately, the appointment of Dane Butswinkas could prove to be a strategic move for the electric car maker. Tesla, after all, is on the cusp of what could very well be another transition, as it expands its production operations to foreign countries such as China, and as the Model 3 starts entering international markets. Amidst these changes, as well as the company’s legal challenges and existing regulatory probes from the SEC, the expertise of the veteran trial lawyer would likely prove invaluable.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk affirms Tesla commitment and grueling work schedule: “Daddy is very much home”
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to the electric vehicle maker and its future projects this week, responding to speculation following his $1 billion purchase of TSLA stock.
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market, extending a rally fueled in part by Musk’s TSLA purchase.
Elon Musk’s nonstop work schedule
Amidst the reaction of TSLA stock to Musk’s $1 billion investment, Tesla owners such as @greggertruck noted that “Daddy’s home.” Musk replied, stating that “Daddy is very much home.” He then shared details of a packed weekend of work, which was definitely grueling but completely within character for a “wartime CEO.”
Musk did note, however, that he had lunch with his kids during the weekend despite his extremely busy schedule.
“Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design.
“Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back-to-back meetings across all Tesla departments, but with a particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans, and vehicle production/delivery,” Musk wrote in his post.
Wartime CEO
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described Musk as operating in “wartime CEO mode,” highlighting autonomous driving and AI as a trillion-dollar market opportunity for Tesla. Musk reiterated this point late last month as well, when he outlined the several projects he is juggling among his numerous companies. At the time, Musk stated that he was busy with Starship 10, Grok 5, and Tesla V14. This was despite his notable presence on X.
With Tesla Master Plan Part IV being partly released, the company is entering what could very well be its most ambitious stage to date. To usher in an era of sustainable abundance, Tesla would definitely require a “wartime CEO,” someone who could remain locked in and determined to push through any obstacles to ensure that the company achieves its goals.
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares rose on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed a rare insider purchase of company stock worth about $1 billion.
A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Musk acquired 2.57 million shares last Friday at various prices. The move represents Musk’s largest TSLA purchase ever by value, as per Verity data.
Elon Musk’s TSLA purchase
The disclosure sent Tesla shares up more than 8% in premarket trading Monday, as investors read the purchase as a notable vote of confidence, as stated in a CNBC report. Tesla stock had closed slightly lower Friday but remains more than 25% higher over the past three months. It should be noted that prior to this latest move, Musk’s most recent purchase was for about 200,000 shares worth $10 million in 2020.
Market watchers say the purchase could help shore up investor sentiment amid a volatile year for TSLA stock. Shares have faced pressure from a variety of factors, from year-over-year sales challenges due to the new Model Y changeover, political controversies tied to Musk, and reduced U.S. incentives for EVs under the Trump administration. Nevertheless, analysts such as Wedbush’s Dan Ives stated that Musk’s purchase was a “huge sign of confidence for Tesla bulls and shows Musk is doubling down on his Tesla A.I. bet.”
Tesla and Elon Musk
Musk already owns about 13% of Tesla, and his latest purchase comes as the company prepares for a key shareholder vote in November. Investors will decide whether to approve a compensation package for Musk that could ultimately be worth as much as $975 billion if ambitious market value milestones are achieved. The package has a long-term target of pushing Tesla’s market capitalization to $8.5 trillion, compared with about $1.3 trillion at Friday’s close.
Wall Street’s current consensus price target still implies a roughly 20% decline from current levels, though some Tesla bulls remain optimistic that the company could shift its focus toward autonomy, AI, and robotics. Musk has also asked shareholders to approve an investment into his latest venture, xAI.
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