Phil Rothenberg, a vice president in Tesla’s legal department, told Bloomberg he has left the automaker to become general counsel at Sonder, a hospitality startup.
“It’s been a privilege to watch firsthand as Tesla grew from a niche automaker to having one of the top-selling vehicles in the U.S.,” Rothenberg wrote in an email to Bloomberg. “I’ll always be a supporter and believer in the company, its leadership, and its mission. I worked with Tesla to ensure a smooth transition of my responsibilities.”
Rothenberg, an experienced securities lawyer, departed shortly after the company reached a fraud settlement with regulators.
Rothenberg, 48, joined Tesla in May 2011. He was previously an attorney-adviser for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The departure comes at a time Tesla needs to beef up its attorney team with SEC experience. Under the terms of the settlement related to Chief Executive Elon Musk’s tweets about taking the company private, the SEC required Tesla to hire or designate “an experienced securities lawyer” to review all social media communications made by senior officers.