Musk Confidant Afshar Exits Tesla in Latest High-Level Departure
(Bloomberg) — Omead Afshar, a powerful executive at Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and one of Elon Musk's closest confidants, has left the company, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest high-level departure during a volatile period for the electric vehicle maker.
News of the exit has circulated internally among some employees in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal information. Afshar's name no longer appeared to show up in an internal directory, two of the people said. The reason for the change wasn't immediately clear.
Afshar, Musk and Tesla didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Afshar, who has worked in the office of the CEO, was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe. Those markets have become particular pain points for the automaker recently, with sales plunging due to rising competition and a consumer backlash to Musk's role in US President Donald Trump's administration.
This marks at least the second departure of a prominent Tesla leader in recent weeks. Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for the company's Optimus humanoid robot program, stepped down citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
The personnel changes punctuate a tumultuous year for Tesla, whose shares have tumbled about 19% while demand has waned for its EV models and Musk has spent time in Washington. The chief executive officer is trying to reorient the company around artificial intelligence, robots and driverless cars, recently rolling out a small number of Tesla's long-promised robotaxis in Austin.
Tesla is expected to report global delivery results for the second quarter next week.
Tesla Tenure
Afshar joined Tesla in 2017, as the carmaker was beginning to ramp up production of the Model 3 sedan.
'I was with Elon nearly every single day during Model 3 hell,' he says in a post on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. 'This included Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, his birthday and nearly missing his brother's wedding.'
Afshar was posting regularly on social media in recent days, including several messages this week praising the robotaxi launch.
The executive oversaw the construction of Tesla's plant in Austin. A member of the office of the CEO since 2017, his most recent job title was listed on his LinkedIn page as a cowboy hat emoji.
He came under internal scrutiny in 2022 for his role in purchasing hard-to-get construction materials, including a special kind of glass, Bloomberg reported.
It's not unusual for executives to shuffle from one part of Musk's empire to another, and Afshar worked at SpaceX for a time.
Tesla has just three named executive officers: Musk, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja and Tom Zhu, senior vice president of automotive.
—With assistance from Kara Carlson and Craig Trudell.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
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