Tesla has hired David Misler as a new managing counsel, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Misler is a former trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tesla has repeatedly had run-ins with the SEC, most notably over statements made by CEO Elon Musk on his Twitter account.
In 2018, the SEC charged Musk and Tesla with securities fraud after the CEO tweeted that he was considering taking the company private at $420 per share and had funding secured in 2018.
Musk later rescinded that stated plan, and Tesla and Musk settled with the regulators, paying a $20 million fine each, and signing an agreement that required the CEO to temporarily relinquish his role as chairman of the board and to have his tweets reviewed by an attorney before posting.
The original agreement was amended in 2019 when Musk continued tweeting spontaneously. The feds filed a motion to hold him in contempt, and a judge asked both parties to put on their “reasonableness pants,” and clarify what exact types of Musk’s tweets required an attorney’s review.
In June of this year, the Wall Street Journal reported the SEC had subsequently accused Musk of violating the amended agreement with tweets that said Tesla’s stock price was too high, and that discussed solar rooftop production numbers.
