Just days before its highly anticipated Robotaxi event, Tesla is facing a wave of executive departures that raised serious questions about the company’s stability. Four key executives—each directly reporting to CEO Elon Musk—have either announced their resignations or confirmed they’ve already left the company within a single week.
During an all-hands meeting on Thursday, employees learned that Nagesh Saldi, Tesla’s chief information officer, is exiting the company after nearly 12 years, citing concerns over professional repercussions.
On October 1, Jos Dings, the director of public policy and business development, shared his departure via LinkedIn, where he noted he was stepping away from the role. Just days later, Marc Van Impe, who served as the global vehicle automation and safety policy lead, also announced on LinkedIn that he had left Tesla. Both Dings and Van Impe had reported to Rohan Patel, Tesla’s vice president of public policy and business development, who left the company in April. After Patel’s departure, both executives began reporting directly to Musk.
In his LinkedIn post, Dings stated he was taking a career break, while Van Impe mentioned that he would be moving into an advisory position at SpaceX. According to his profile, Van Impe had dedicated the last four years to deploying Tesla’s driver-assist technology in global markets.
David Zhang, the former program manager for the Model S and Model X, also updated his LinkedIn followers about his departure from Tesla, which took place in July, though this was the first time he publicly acknowledged it. Meanwhile, Daniel Ho, the former head of vehicle programs, confirmed on September 29 that he had joined Waymo as its new programs director. Musk had publicly acknowledged Ho’s departure in April, part of a broader strategy to trim the workforce by over 10%. This downsizing also affected other senior executives, including Drew Baglino and Rebecca Tinucci, who left in April.
In total, Musk has lost eight direct reports in the last year, a significant number given that he oversees more than 30 direct reports. Tesla’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment regarding the executive changes, nor did the departing executives provide additional insights.
Industry insiders have speculated that the turnover may stem from Musk’s leadership approach. One former manager explained, “Every few years Elon comes in and slashes head count, or there’s a reorg, and it’s like you have to build everything from scratch again.” Another former high-level employee expressed concerns over morale, particularly after Musk shifted his focus to his Twitter acquisition in 2022, stating, “A lot of people at Tesla are just tired of all the noise.”
One former manager who resigned earlier this year pointed out that the layoffs in April led many high-level employees to contemplate their futures at Tesla. “We just kept fighting to keep our teams together,” they said, adding that “that sh*t takes its toll.”
Tesla is slated to demonstrate its self-driving technology during the Robotaxi event, set for Thursday at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California. The presentation will be livestreamed on X, with Musk repeatedly underscoring the importance of autonomous driving technology for the company’s future.
