Top Tesla executive Omead Afshar, close to Elon Musk, leaves amid slowing global demand.

From Yahoo Finance: 2025-06-26 11:45:00

Tesla executive Omead Afshar, a close confidant of Elon Musk, has left the company amid slowing global demand. He oversaw sales and manufacturing in Europe and North America, joining in 2017 and playing a key role in projects like the Texas Gigafactory. His departure comes as Tesla faces competition with more affordable options and internal pressure to address sales declines, particularly in Europe.

Afshar’s exit follows a series of executive departures over the past 14 months due to company restructuring. Leaders in robotics, batteries, and public policy have left, including the head of the Optimus humanoid robot team and a top battery executive. Despite Musk’s reassurance after his Washington stint, Tesla shares are down 19% for the year, with concerns over expanding self-driving taxis to other cities.

On Sunday, Tesla launched self-driving taxis in Austin, Texas, with plans to expand to other cities later this year. Analysts have raised safety and technology concerns. Afshar, who praised the Austin debut on X, has previously shared his close collaboration with Musk during the production ramp-up of the Model 3 sedan in 2018. The departures of Afshar and others signal Tesla’s shift towards AI-powered self-driving technology and robotics.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Top Tesla executive, an Elon Musk confidant, leaves the company, sources say