Al Prescott, Tesla’s vice president of legal and acting lawyers, has left the electric vehicle and renewable energy company to join Luminar, a lidar start-up.
The step is remarkable in many ways. On the one hand, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long insisted that lidar technology, or distance sensors and light detection, is too expensive and not necessary for autonomous vehicle development. However, the move from Prescott to Luminar, where he will serve as legal director, is a endorsement of the technology.
Prescott said in a statement to CNBC:
“Luminar has been a pioneer in critical safety technology that will drive our self-sufficient future. As a person who dedicates my career to safety and innovation in automotive, I am looking forward to helping drive Luminar to the next level and fulfill its mission to do so. the safest transportation for everyone. “
Bill Berry, currently head of litigation at Tesla, who joined in October 2020 and was previously working at Google, is expected to head Tesla’s department, but will not take on the role of attorney general accordingly. with people who are familiar with the matter.
Another change at the top of Tesla’s legal department could be challenging at a time when the company is facing new lawsuits, federal investigations and lawsuits that were delayed due to Covid’s impact in northern courts. -americans.
Tesla previously lost three general tips over a year in 2018 and 2019. In December 2018, Todd Maron, Musk’s top lawyer for the previous four years, left the company. Dane Butswinkas took over but his term lasted only about two months and Jonathan Chang took over as general counsel, but left in December 2019. The company did not hire another senior lawyer afterwards, and Prescott served. of Legal Vice President and Acting General Council.
Last year, Tesla was supposed to go on trial for shareholder allegations that Tesla CEO Elon Musk forced his electric vehicle company to acquire a allegedly illicit solar business, SolarCity, for more than $ 2 billion to benefit himself and his family. in more than a year. The initial trial date was March 2020 and is now expected to begin this summer.
On March 8, 2021, a shareholder named Chase Gharrity filed a lawsuit accusing Musk of exposing Tesla to potential billions of liabilities and market losses through his erratic Twitter posts, even though he and Tesla had reached a settlement agreement with Securities and Exchange. Commission that requires the CEO to obtain tweets previously approved by a lawyer if they may contain information that is material to Tesla shareholders.
In the new complaint, Gharrity appeals to Tesla’s board not to appoint a Tesla attorney general who can keep Musk in compliance with the securities law and the terms of his SEC settlement agreement.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Prescott provided “guidance to executives and the Tesla Board of Directors” and led “all legal operations in North America, Europe and Asia,” helping the company overcome the challenges of the automotive and energy industry.
Prescott’s name and face may be familiar to the company’s close followers: he kicked off the annual Tesla 2020 shareholders ’meeting and Battery Day. He had also signed correspondence on behalf of Tesla in response to the Federal Vehicle Safety Authority (NHTSA), which has the authority to investigate public safety complaints and demand withdrawals if they believe a vehicle or a component are not safe.
Prior to joining Tesla, Prescott had a long career in automotive, including as a senior attorney for autonomous vehicles at Uber, where he dealt with regulatory, judicial, commercial, privacy and cybersecurity issues. He also worked as a lawyer for the Ford Motor Company for more than a decade after spending a year there as an accident safety engineer.
Luminar also announced that it has hired a new vice president of investor relations, Trey Campbell, a 20-year Intel veteran. Campbell played the same role in the semiconductor company before jumping on the lidar maker. Intel’s Mobileye unit is a partner of Luminar.
Luminar is a company backed by Peter Thiel and is now a public company that began trading under the LAZR symbol on the Nasdaq in December 2020, following an agreement with SPAC Gores Metropoulos.