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Tesla isn’t “losing” all of its executives — it just has a ton

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Over the past week, you’ve probably heard reports of Tesla “losing” executives, and while the reports are correct, the narrative is wrong. As Musk pushes the Model 3 production ramp forward, he’s also aiming to bring the company to profitability in the second half of the year. Shedding unnecessary positions on the executive level certainly seems to be part of this plan.

But with reports of “executives” leaving Tesla surfacing what feels like, everyday, it seems like the company is spiraling out of control. This is fundamentally incorrect because the media is highlighting any “senior” departure as a major loss and isn’t providing context to Tesla’s broader management structure.

First, reports of “key” people leaving Tesla now range from Vice Presidents, Product Directors, Managers, and Directors. But how are we determining people to be key? Bloomberg’s Dana Hull reported that Bob Rudd and Arch Padmanabhan left the company. Rudd and Padmanabhan’s positions were Senior Director and Director respectively. Padmanabhan had been at Tesla for 5 years, while Rudd joined SolarCity in 2012 at VP of Project Development for Energy Storage & Microgrids.

It’s unclear why Rudd and Padmanabhan have left the company, but it could be part of Musk’s broader company reorganization. On Monday, Musk sent out a memo to employees telling them, “To ensure that Tesla is well prepared for the future, we have been undertaking a thorough reorganization of our company.”

In addition to the company’s overall structure, Musk is aiming to rid a significant number of contract workers at the company. During Tesla’s Q1 2018 earnings call, Musk referred to contractors as “barnacles” stating that, “…we’re going to scrub the barnacles on that front.”

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“It’s pretty crazy. We’ve got barnacles on barnacles. So there’s going to be a lot of barnacle removal.”

I could list dozens of executive departures at Tesla that were not previously reported in the past year, all senior to both Rudd and Padmanabhan, but I think it’s more important to provide perspective on the number of executives Tesla actually employs. After an in-depth analysis of LinkedIn data, I have found 23 active Vice Presidents at Tesla. There were far too many Directors and Senior Directors to conduct an accurate analysis.

Since the beginning of 2017, Tesla has lost 9 VPs and 3 other major executives (CAO, CFO, and President). Of the executives that left, their average tenure was 3.9 years — nearly a third less than existing VPs. Comparably, the VPs that are currently employed by Tesla hold an average tenure of 4.8 years.

Of the executives that have left since the start of 2017, only 4 had stayed at the company longer than 3 years, suggesting that their departures could have been related to culture clash (Chris Lattner) or a stepping stone to a C-Suite position at another company (Jon McNeill, Diarmuid O’Connell).

While it isn’t clear how exactly Tesla will be “restructured,” you can be certain that nearly all departures will be “high profile” as investors watch closely.

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Full list of executives included in this analysis:

Active (23):

  • VP, Legal: Jonathan Chang
  • VP, Manufacturing: Gilbert Passin
  • VP, Materials Engineering: Charles Kuehmann
  • VP, Sales: John Walker
  • VP, Communications: Sarah O’Brien
  • VP, Gigafactory Operations and EPC: Kevin Kassekert
  • VP, Treasurer: Ron Klein
  • VP, Automation, Equipment and MES Engineering: Pablo Gonzalez
  • VP, Global Supply Chain: Sascha Zahnd
  • VP, Worldwide Service and Customer Experience: Karim Bousta
  • VP, Technology:  Drew Baglino
  • VP, Legal: Phil Rothenberg
  • VP, Engineering: Steve MacManus
  • VP of Engineering: Nick Kalayjian
  • VP of Engineering: Dr. Michael Schwekutsch
  • VP, Technology and Engineering: Nagesh Saldi
  • VP, Asia Pacific: Robin Ren
  • VP, US Energy Sales: Bryan Ellis
  • VP, Global Recruiting: Cindy Nicola
  • VP, Environment, Health, and Wellness: Laurie Shelby
  • VP, Worldwide Finance and Operations: Justin McAnear
  • VP: Ganesh Srivats
  • VP, Production: Peter Hochholdinger
  • VP, Gigafactory 1: Jens Peter Clausen
  • VP, Trucks and Programs: Jerome Guillen
  • VP, Powertrain Hardware Engineering: Jim Dunlay
  • VP, Global Supply Management at Tesla Motors: Liam O’Connor
  • VP of Vehicle Software, Services, and Diagnostics: David Lau
  • VP of Energy Sales and Operations: Cal Lankton
  • VP, Product Marketing: Elliott Summers

Executive Departures from 2017-current (8 VPs, 3 other Major Execs) :

  • VP, Finance and Corporate Treasurer: Susan Repo
  • VP, Investor Relations: Jeff Evanson
  • VP, Talent Acquisition & Analytics: Raj Dev
  • President, Global Sales, Marketing, Delivery, and Service: Jon McNeill
  • VP, Autopilot Hardware Engineering: Jim Keller
  • CFO, Jason Wheeler
  • CAO, Eric Branderiz
  • VP, Autopilot: Chris Lattner
  • VP, HR: Arnnon Geshuri
  • VP, HR: Mark Lipscomb
  • VP, Autopilot Vision David Nister

Disclaimer: This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Teslarati and its owners. Christian Prenzler does not have a position in Tesla Inc. or any of its competitors and does not have plans to do so in the next 30 days.

Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

Investor's Corner

Tesla gets $475 price target from Benchmark amid initial Robotaxi rollout

Tesla’s limited rollout of its Robotaxi service in Austin is already catching the eye of Wall Street.

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Credit: Tesla

Venture capital firm Benchmark recently reiterated its “Buy” rating and raised its price target on Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) from $350 to $475 per share, citing the company’s initial Robotaxi service deployment as a sign of future growth potential.

Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg praised the Robotaxi service pilot’s “controlled and safety-first approach,” adding that it could help Tesla earn the trust of regulators and the general public.

Confidence in camera-based autonomy

Legg reiterated Benchmark’s belief in Tesla’s vision-only approach to autonomous driving. “We are a believer in Tesla’s camera-focused approach that is not only cost effective but also scalable,” he noted. 

The analyst contrasted Tesla’s simple setup with the more expensive hardware stacks used by competitors like Waymo, which use various sophisticated sensors that hike up costs, as noted in an Investing.com report. Compared to Tesla’s Model Y Robotaxis, Waymo’s self-driving cars are significantly more expensive.

He also pointed to upcoming Texas regulations set to take effect in September, suggesting they could help create a regulatory framework favorable to autonomous services in other cities.

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“New regulations for autonomous vehicles are set to go into place on Sept. 1 in TX that we believe will further help win trust and pave the way for expansion to additional cities,” the analyst wrote.

https://twitter.com/herbertong/status/1938287117441855616?s=10

Tesla as a robotics powerhouse

Beyond robotaxis, Legg sees Tesla evolving beyond its roots as an electric vehicle maker. He noted that Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, could be a long-term growth driver alongside new vehicle programs and other future initiatives.

“In our view, the company is undergoing an evolution from a trailblazing vehicle OEM to a high-tech automation and robotics company with unmatched domestic manufacturing scale,” he wrote.

Benchmark noted that Tesla stock had rebounded over 50% from its April lows, driven in part by easing tariff concerns and growing momentum around autonomy. With its initial Robotaxi rollout now underway, the firm has returned to its previous $475 per share target and reaffirmed TSLA as a Benchmark Top Pick for 2025.

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Tesla blacklisted by Swedish pension fund AP7 as it sells entire stake

A Swedish pension fund is offloading its Tesla holdings for good.

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tesla
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla shares have been blacklisted by the Swedish pension fund AP7, who said earlier today that it has “verified violations of labor rights in the United States” by the automaker.

The fund ended up selling its entire stake, which was worth around $1.36 billion when it liquidated its holdings in late May. Reuters first reported on AP7’s move.

Other pension and retirement funds have relinquished some of their Tesla holdings due to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in politics, among other reasons, and although the company’s stock has been a great contributor to growth for many funds over the past decade, these managers are not willing to see past the CEO’s right to free speech.

However, AP7 says the move is related not to Musk’s involvement in government nor his political stances. Instead, the fund said it verified several labor rights violations in the U.S.:

“AP7 has decided to blacklist Tesla due to verified violations of labor rights in the United States. Despite several years of dialogue with Tesla, including shareholder proposals in collaboration with other investors, the company has not taken sufficient measures to address the issues.”

Tesla made up about 1 percent of the AP7 Equity Fund, according to a spokesperson. This equated to roughly 13 billion crowns, but the fund’s total assets were about 1,181 billion crowns at the end of May when the Tesla stake was sold off.

Tesla has had its share of labor lawsuits over the past few years, just as any large company deals with at some point or another. There have been claims of restrictions against labor union supporters, including one that Tesla was favored by judges, as they did not want pro-union clothing in the factory. Tesla argued that loose-fitting clothing presented a safety hazard, and the courts agreed.

tesla employee

(Photo: Tesla)

There have also been claims of racism at the Fremont Factory by a former elevator contractor named Owen Diaz. He was awarded a substantial sum of $137m. However, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled the $137 million award was excessive, reducing it to $15 million. Diaz rejected this sum.

Another jury awarded Diaz $3.2 million. Diaz’s legal team said this payout was inadequate. He and Tesla ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount.

AP7 did not list any of the current labor violations that it cited as its reason for

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Investor's Corner

xAI targets $5 billion debt offering to fuel company goals

Elon Musk’s xAI is targeting a $5B debt raise, led by Morgan Stanley, to scale its artificial intelligence efforts.

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(Credit: xAI)

xAI’s $5 billion debt offering, marketed by Morgan Stanley, underscores Elon Musk’s ambitious plans to expand the artificial intelligence venture. The xAI package comprises bonds and two loans, highlighting the company’s strategic push to fuel its artificial intelligence development.

Last week, Morgan Stanley began pitching a floating-rate term loan B at 97 cents on the dollar with a variable interest rate of 700 basis points over the SOFR benchmark, one source said. A second option offers a fixed-rate loan and bonds at 12%, with terms contingent on investor appetite. This “best efforts” transaction, where the debt size hinges on demand, reflects cautious lending in an uncertain economic climate.

According to Reuters sources, Morgan Stanley will not guarantee the issue volume or commit its own capital in the xAI deal, marking a shift from past commitments. The change in approach stems from lessons learned during Musk’s 2022 X acquisition when Morgan Stanley and six other banks held $13 billion in debt for over two years.

Morgan Stanley and the six other banks backing Musk’s X acquisition could only dispose of that debt earlier this year. They capitalized on X’s improved operating performance over the previous two quarters as traffic on the platform increased engagement around the U.S. presidential elections. This time, Morgan Stanley’s prudent strategy mitigates similar risks.

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Beyond debt, xAI is in talks to raise $20 billion in equity, potentially valuing the company between $120 billion and $200 billion, sources said. In April, Musk hinted at a significant valuation adjustment for xAI, stating he was looking to put a “proper value” on xAI during an investor call.

As xAI pursues this $5 billion debt offering, its financial strategy positions it to lead the AI revolution, blending innovation with market opportunity.

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