Tesla Motors Hires Veteran Technology and Media Executive, Jon Sobel, as General Counsel and Secretary

SAN CARLOS, Calif.--Highly regarded Silicon Valley executive Jon Sobel will join Tesla Motors as general counsel and board secretary, starting in late September.

Sobel, 45, is currently group president for media of SourceForge, an open source and social media company. There, Sobel spearheaded an innovative business strategy to strengthen the company’s twin roles as a community trust and a for-profit public company. Previously, Sobel was senior vice president of strategy and business development at CBS Interactive, and he was partner at San Francisco-based law firm Folger Levin & Kahn.

Sobel spent six years as a top executive at Internet search pioneer Yahoo, where he was senior vice president, general counsel, board secretary and a member of the company’s executive committee. He joined Yahoo in 1998 and was rapidly promoted to lead the team, which grew to include more than 75 attorneys.

During his tenure, Yahoo grew from an early stage Internet startup to one of the best known brands in the world, a publicly traded company with extensive international operations and thousands of employees. Sobel guided Yahoo on a wide range of critical issues, including risk management and litigation; patent, trade secret and copyright matters; international law; mergers and acquisitions; privacy and consumer protection; securities regulation; contract and licensing matters; and international jurisdiction and tax laws.

“Jon really understands how to solve the challenges of a fast growing, international consumer technology company. His high tech background serves as a good complement to the auto industry expertise on the Tesla team, consistent with our strategy is to recruit outstanding talent from both industries. I particularly liked that he managed Slashdot, one of my favorite sites,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “Jon will provide invaluable counsel on complex issues at the nexus of law, finance, communications and public policy. ”

Tesla announced a significant financial milestone in July, when it achieved overall corporate profitability and shipped a record 109 vehicles to customers. The company – which remains the only automaker producing and selling highway capable electric vehicles – has enjoyed a surge in new Roadster purchases this summer. The Department of Energy recently announced that Tesla will receive a $465 million loan for Model S and powertrain production. Initial fund disbursements from the loan are expected to begin in the fall.

Early in his career, Sobel worked as a reporter for a daily newspaper in Michigan and an adviser in Washington DC to U.S. Sen. John Danforth of Missouri. Sobel has an MBA from Wharton, a law degree from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University.

“Tesla already serves as an industrywide example that an automaker can create a successful business model while being socially and environmentally responsible,” Sobel said. “I’m thrilled to be joining such an exciting company at the beginning of its rapid growth phase.”

About Tesla

Tesla sells cars online and operates showrooms in New York, Seattle, London, West Los Angeles and California’s Silicon Valley. Tesla will open stores in Chicago and Munich in the upcoming weeks, and it also plans stores in South Florida, Washington DC, Toronto and Monaco this year.

Tesla Motors is the only automaker worldwide that is manufacturing and selling highway-capable electric vehicles. Tesla, which achieved overall corporate profitability in July, has delivered about 700 Roadsters to customers so far. The company’s goal is to produce increasingly affordable cars to mainstream buyers – relentlessly driving down the cost of EV technology. Tesla also sells patented power train components to other automakers, including the battery pack and charger for the electric Smart, built by German luxury carmaker Daimler.

The Roadster beats nearly every other car for acceleration yet is twice as energy efficient as a Toyota Prius. With an EPA-estimated range of nearly 250 miles per charge, it costs less than $5 to refuel and is faster than street-legal Porsches and Ferraris.

Teslas consume no gasoline whatsoever, never need routine oil changes and require far less maintenance than internal combustion engine vehicles or complicated hybrids. They qualify for numerous incentives, including a $7,500 federal tax credit nationwide, and sales tax waivers in several states, leading to a dramatically lower total cost of ownership than conventional sports cars.