A third of Tesla’s top executives onstage with Musk two years ago have left
Two years ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk defended against criticism that he was spending too much time running Twitter by saying Tesla had a world-class team in charge. “We’ve obviously got significant bench strength here,” he said at its 2023 Investor Day, standing onstage with more than a dozen of the company’s top executives, former Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief Patrick George wrote in the Atlantic.
Today, as investors still worry about Musk’s outside commitments and as Tesla sales are expected to decrease for the second year in a row, about a third of the executives onstage with Musk that day have left. Just since April, George points out, Tesla has lost its head of software engineering, its head of battery technology, and its head of humanoid robotics. In conjunction with the layoffs of “tens of thousands” of its regular workforce, the loss of major leadership means that “the future of Tesla rests singularly on Musk more than it ever has.” That’s probably why Musk is so insistent that he’s back.
Today, as investors still worry about Musk’s outside commitments and as Tesla sales are expected to decrease for the second year in a row, about a third of the executives onstage with Musk that day have left. Just since April, George points out, Tesla has lost its head of software engineering, its head of battery technology, and its head of humanoid robotics. In conjunction with the layoffs of “tens of thousands” of its regular workforce, the loss of major leadership means that “the future of Tesla rests singularly on Musk more than it ever has.” That’s probably why Musk is so insistent that he’s back.
