Tesla Executive and Musk Confidant Departs Company

AUSTIN, Texas, June 27, 2025 – Omead Afshar, a longtime executive at Tesla and close confidant of Elon Musk, has left the electric-vehicle maker, according to three people familiar with the matter, marking one of the most closely followed departures at the company.

Omead’s exit is being seen as another senior departure coinciding with the challenges of slowing global demand that have confronted the company.

As part of the CEO’s office, Omead headed sales and manufacturing in Europe and North America since last year. After joining Tesla in 2017, he took no time to become one of Musk’s trusted lieutenants, with a pivotal role in major projects like the Texas Gigafactory.

Reuters said sources, who requested anonymity, did not have details on the reasons and circumstances that led to Omead’s exit.

Omead posted about Tesla on X earlier this week, and as of Wednesday, his X and LinkedIn profiles still listed his Tesla role as current. 

Omead’s departure comes in the backdrop of reduced demand in Europe and North America for Tesla's aging vehicle lineup, while rivals have offered more affordable alternatives.

Two people in direct know-how of Tesla's operations said Omead was in the list of executives who embraced bigger roles this year when Musk’s focus remained on Washington.

Year 2025 saw Musk’s involvement in President Donald Trump’s government cost-cutting drive, which left many investors and analysts worried that it was distracting Musk from Tesla. There were apprehensions that this alienated some potential buyers.

Former mid-level Tesla sales manager Matthew LaBrot, who was recently fired for public criticism of Musk, described Omead as a “supporting character” closely associated with Musk but only until he grew to head sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe.

LaBrot pointed to the significant internal pressure to tackle the drop in sales, which has been particularly severe in Europe, Reuters reported.

Omead’s departure was reported earlier by Bloomberg News, which also reported that North America HR Director Jenna Ferrua had exited the company. Two of the three people who confirmed Omead’s departure to Reuters also said Ferrua had left. One of those people said Omead and Ferrua were close colleagues, so it was not surprising that both left around the same time. Another of the people said Ferrua had served as a direct HR adviser to Omead.

The departure follows a series of executive exits over the past 14 months, led by company-wide restructuring as Tesla cut thousands of jobs and shifted its focus to AI-powered self-driving technology and robotics.

Among the departures were leaders in robots, batteries, and public policy. The head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot team, Milan Kovac, announced he was leaving this month, and top battery executive Vineet Mehta did so in May.

Chief battery engineer Drew Baglino, Rebecca Tinucci, who headed the supercharging division, and global public policy head Rohan Patel left in spring 2024.

Musk’s Washington stint ended in late May with his reassurance to some investors concerned about brand damage. Despite this, Tesla’s shares remain down almost 19 percent for the year, after an initial rise on optimism that Trump's victory would clear the regulatory path for robotaxis.

On Sunday, Tesla deployed self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas. Analysts have sounded an alert that the company's plan to expand to other cities later this year could face hurdles due to concerns about safety and the technology.

On Monday, Omead posted on X that the Austin robotaxi debut was an "absolutely historic day for Tesla,” adding: “Thank you, Elon, for pushing us all!”

In the past, Omead posted about spending holidays and late nights with Musk, particularly when Tesla was ramping up production of the mass-market Model 3 sedan in 2018. He reflected in a March post about “living in the factory at this time, truly 24/7.”

Omead’s departure from Tesla, comes in the backdrop of a reduced demand in Europe and North America for Tesla's aging vehicle line-up, while rivals have offered more affordable alternatives.

Inputs from Saqib Malik

Editing by David Ryder