Tesla Denies Report Of Legal Chief's Departure, Triggering A Clap Back From Elon Musk's Mom On Twitter

Tesla Inc. TSLA is denying a report that legal chief David Searle quit less than a month ago and that his role is now being taken over by Tesla’s deputy general counsel Dinna Eskin.

New York-based financial media company Bloomberg cited three sources familiar with the matter, yet Tesla maintains the article is false.

Searle had been leading an internal investigation into improprieties in the procurement of hard-to-get glass. Omead Afshar, a close confidante of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, was being probed on the matter.

See Also: What Former Tesla AI Director Andrej Kalpathy Is Up To These Days, Why Elon Musk Is Rooting For His Former Lieutenant

Searle’s LinkedIn profile does not reflect the rumored Tesla exit. Currently, his position is listed as acting head of legal and corporate secretary at Tesla — a position he took over in October 2021.

Searle first joined Tesla as its deputy general counsel and senior director, compliance, in Feb. 2021.

Tesla Responds: Tesla’s official Twitter handle, @Tesla, said the Bloomberg article was false and explicitly stated that Searle is still with the company.

This Bloomberg article is false. David Searle has not left Tesla.

— Tesla (@Tesla) August 17, 2022

Musk’s Mom Slams Bloomberg: Musk’s mom, Maye Musk, also chimed in on the matter and challenged the media outlet to prove her wrong:

The Bloomberg @Tesla headlines are wrong all of the time, and always on the negative side. Prove me wrong @business #FUD https://t.co/g5w8VG6xTL

— Maye Musk (@mayemusk) August 17, 2022

This isn't the first time Maye Musk had taken up the cudgels on her son's behalf. In June, she scrutinized Reuters for what she claimed to be false reporting about job cuts at Tesla.

See Also: A Picture Is Worth 1000 Tweets - Elon Musk On Journalistic Integrity

In premarket trading, Tesla shares were up 0.44% at $916 in premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo: Courtesy of Tesla Owners Club Belgium on Flickr