Indirect Tax Counsel

Tesla • Fremont, CA

111d

About The Position

Tesla's Indirect Tax Counsel team operates at the intersection of law, operations & automation. We're deeply embedded across business functions & serve as the first line of support for resolving daily indirect tax questions & escalations from customers, suppliers & internal stakeholders. We don't just solve problems—we build systems to prevent them from occurring. Team members are expected to be fast, precise, & proactive—capable of analyzing complex tax matters on the fly while also building scalable, tech-enabled solutions that streamline compliance, & reduce future manual intervention. We are looking for an attorney who has a strong knowledge of U.S. & Canadian indirect tax matters & is equally comfortable resolving urgent tax escalations, partnering with different stakeholders. The ideal candidate must have the ability to strategically anticipate tax issues, enabling sustainable growth & aligning tax strategy with Tesla's mission.

Requirements

• JD from an ABA-accredited law school & active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
• 3+ years of experience in indirect tax at a law firm, accounting firm or in-house legal department
• Demonstrated ability to resolve real-time indirect tax questions & responsibly manage high-urgency matters
• Experience in industries such as AI, energy, automotive, software, and utilities
• Technical fluency with indirect tax systems & automation—experience with tools like Excel, Bloomberg Tax, Alteryx, Power BI, Vertex & other custom tax engines
• Ability to support User Acceptance Testing with IT Team during tax implementation phase
• Experience with tax accounting

Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary legal point of contact for indirect tax escalations across Tesla's U.S. & Canadian operations, providing timely, practical guidance to business units
• Design, implement, & continuously improve automated tools, workflows & decision engines that reduce repetitive tax inquiries & standardize resolution processes
• Build logic-driven playbooks, knowledge bases, exemption capture engines & compliance tools that integrate with procurement, finance & customer-facing platforms
• Review contracts & partner with legal, procurement, & finance to ensure documentation supports optimized & auditable tax outcomes
• Lead resolution of consumer & agency escalations including Departments of Revenue and Attorney General offices by identifying root causes & implementing systemic fixes
• Monitor tax legislation & identify changes that may require system updates or present automation opportunities
• Partner with data & software teams to implement tax logic in Tesla's ERP, sales & procurement platforms

What This Job Offers

• Industry: Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees