---
title: "Tesla’s Top Lawyers Keep Leaving"
description: "Tesla's general counsel, Jonathan Chang, left the company last week. That makes three lawyers and 16 executives to leave Tesla this year."
date: "2019-12-12"
modified: "2019-12-12"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-lawyers-leaving"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Tesla"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
---

# Tesla’s Top Lawyers Keep Leaving

![Tesla's general counsel, Jonathan Chang, left the company last week. That makes three lawyers and 16 executives to leave Tesla this year.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/teslas-lawyers-leaving.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Tesla/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Revolving Door

Tesla just lost its top lawyer for the third time in 2019 alone.

Jonathan Chang, the company's general counsel, left the company last Friday, [according to *Bloomberg*](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-12/tesla-loses-its-third-general-counsel-in-the-course-of-a-year>). Now, Chang will take the same position at the artificial intelligence company SambaNova Systems, bookending a tumultuous year of high-profile employees deciding to leave the electric car company.

## Turbulent Tenure

Chang held the position during not only the [SEC's investigation](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-respect-sec>) into CEO Elon Musk, but also [Walmart's lawsuit](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/walmart-sues-tesla-solar-panels>) against the company in which it was accused of selling hazardous solar panels.

In January, then general counsel Todd Maron left Tesla, *[Business Insider](<https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-executive-departures-list-2018-9>)*[ reports](<https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-executive-departures-list-2018-9>). His successor Dane Butswinkas also left this year, according to the same report, and in addition Tesla lost 13 other executives this year.

## Tough Job

The fact that Tesla's legal department has a high turnover rate isn't all that shocking, given Musk's [tendency](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-trial-pedo-comment>) to [get sued](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-autopilot-crash-lawsuit>) or [otherwise challenged](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-investors-sue-elon-musk>) in [legal affairs](<https://futurism.com/teslas-lawsuit-alleged-saboteur-tripp>).

It's a reasonable bet that moving forward, the cases that Chang handles will at least be a little bit less ridiculous.

**READ MORE:** [Tesla Loses Its Third General Counsel in the Course of a Year](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-12/tesla-loses-its-third-general-counsel-in-the-course-of-a-year>) \[*Bloomberg*\]

**More on Elon Musk:** *[Tesla Slammed by Another Autopilot Crash Lawsuit](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-autopilot-crash-lawsuit>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)