- The Tesla leaders in charge of the Cybertruck, Model 3 and Model Y are all leaving the automaker.
- Emmanuel Lamacchia and Siddhant Awasthi both announced their exits on Sunday.
- The turnover comes as Tesla attempts to transition its business away from vehicles.
Two Tesla executives in charge of its Cybertruck and Model Y programs are leaving the company. The departures come as Tesla transitions to a business defined not by cars, but by AI, robotics and self-driving technology.
Siddhant Awasthi, who spent eight years at the automaker and most recently led the Cybertruck and Model 3 programs, announced his exit in a LinkedIn post.
“It’s tough to sum up eight years in just a few lines, but what a thrilling journey it’s been: ramping up Model 3, working on Giga Shanghai, developing new electronics and wireless architectures, and delivering the once-in-a-lifetime Cybertruck—all before hitting 30,” he wrote. “This decision wasn’t easy, especially with so much exciting growth on the horizon.”
On Sunday, Emmanuel Lamacchia, Tesla’s Model Y vehicle program manager, also said he was leaving Tesla after eight years. The Model Y is by far Tesla’s best-selling vehicle, with over 1 million units delivered last year globally.
“Leading the All-New Model Y launch was the highlight: converting all 4 factories across 3 continents in just 2 weeks. Something that had never been done before in the auto industry,” he wrote. Neither said what they’d do next.
They’re just the latest in a series of exits from Tesla’s top ranks. Omead Afshar, a longtime close advisor to Elon Musk who most recently oversaw sales and manufacturing operations across North America and Europe, left in June. Troy Jones, Tesla’s vice president of sales for North America, left the company in July after 15 years. Drew Baglino, its senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, exited in 2024 and founded a startup in the energy space.
The shakeup comes during a time of declining EV sales for Tesla, and during a pivotal moment for the company: Tesla and its CEO have signaled a transition away from EVs and toward moonshot projects like robotaxis and the Optimus humanoid robot. Musk says the latter could make up 80% of Tesla’s value in the future and that there’s no point in making another mass-market car with a steering wheel.
The turnover isn’t just limited to Tesla’s vehicle business, though. Milan Kovac, the head of Tesla’s robotics division, recently left the company. And the automaker dissolved its Dojo supercomputer project, Bloomberg reported, leading to the departure of its head, Peter Bannon.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
