The Delhi High Court is going to hear a matter involving a purported trademark infringement case filed by world’s most valuable electric vehicle maker (EV) maker Tesla Inc against an Indian company that sells batteries under the Tesla brand name.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee will hear the plea filed by the company promoted by tech tycoon Elon Musk on April 15. The case comes up at a time the EV auto maker has firmed up plans to set up its first showroom in Mumbai after years of waiting, soon after India decided to cut duties on imported cars in the budget.

Tesla Inc had moved Delhi HC in May 2024 complaining that an Indian company named Tesla Power India Private Ltd is using the trademark ‘Tesla’ in its entirety even as the US-based auto maker had obtained registration for its trademarks in India.

In its submission before the HC, Tesla Inc said that it came across Tesla Power India promoting its products (batteries for vehicle) under the ‘Tesla’ brand through advertisement in India. The US auto major then sent a cease-and-desist order to the Indian counterpart on April 18, 2022.

However, since Tesla Power continued to advertise and market their goods, Tesla Inc filed the suit before the Delhi HC. Initially, Kavinder Khurana, CEO of Tesla Power, appeared before the court and he in person and through his counsel, stated that his company is in the business of lead acid batteries used in cars and inverters and it does not make EVs and it did not plan to do so in the future.

An order passed by Justice Anish Dayal on May 2, 2024 noted that Tesla Power said on record that the company will not issue any promotional advertisement or material in relation to EV vehicles under their brand/tradename. Moreover, the defendant said it shall not use the registered device/logos of Tesla.

However, on May 28, the plaintiff brought to the notice of the court that the Indian company was selling e-scooters through dealers under various sub-brands. However, the defendant stated that there has been no violation of the undertaking given to the court on May 2.

Two days later, the Indian company stated that it has written to all vendors and partners to remove the marks from EV scooters following the undertaking. However, counsel for Tesla Inc claimed that the Indian company was still in violation of the undertaking, which was refuted by the counsel of Tesla Power.

The matter went for mediation between the parties thereafter. Sources said the hearing would start as the mediation process did not yield desired result.

Tesla Inc, which used to sell most EVs globally before being dislodged by Chinese auto maker BYD in 2024, uses lithium-ion battery to power its cars.

Battery technology is at the heart of electric vehicles and makes up much of the cost of the car. Companies and start-ups across the world are working on refining the EV battery tech.

The matter came up before Justice Banerjee on Wednesday on account of an early hearing petition filed by the US auto maker, which withdrew the application and as a consequence, the matter will now be heard on April 15.