That’s not how “legal departments” work. You don’t have to “run it by legal” to get approval. You do that to understand potential legal risks and then you make a business decision. Legal doesn’t run the business unless you’ve explicitly set up the business that way.

Tesla likely has a complete understanding of all the possible legal outcomes. At present Tesla isn’t actually facing ANY criminal charges. They are being investigated, but that investigation has been ongoing for more than a year. This very article cites Tesla marketing and usage language which complicates any potential DOJ case.