Elon Musk's right-hand man ‘quits Tesla'
One of Elon Musk's closest allies at Tesla has left the company amid a deepening crisis at the electric carmaker.
Omead Afshar, a senior executive who has been described as Mr Musk's 'fixer', has stepped down from his role at the company, according to Bloomberg.
Mr Afshar joined Mr Musk's company in 2017 and rose to run Tesla's operations in North America and Europe. It was not immediately clear why Mr Afshar had left Tesla.
He has boasted of his close relationship with Mr Musk, including their intense work schedule during the troubled production of Tesla's Model 3 Sedan.
'I was with Elon nearly every single day during Model 3 Hell. This included Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, his birthday and nearly missing his brother's wedding,' Mr Afshar recently wrote on X, Mr Musk's social media site.
He also oversaw the building of Tesla's factory in Austin, Texas, which is now the company's headquarters.
Mr Afshar's departure follows the exit this month of Milan Kovac, Tesla's head of engineering for the company's Optimus robot program. Mr Kovac said he wanted to spend more time with family.
They are leaving as Tesla battles a sales slump amid a politically motivated backlash – Mr Musk has been a key supporter of Donald Trump – and fierce competition from Chinese rivals.
Chinese giant BYD overtook Tesla to become the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer this year and Skoda sold more EVs than Mr Musk's company in Europe last month.
Net income at the company crashed by 71pc to $409m (£297m) in the first three months of the year in what was its least profitable quarter since 2020. Shares have dropped by more than 25pc in the last six months.
Mr Musk publicly stepped back from his role in Mr Trump's administration in May following the backlash against Tesla, but stressed that the work of his so-called department of government efficiency (Doge) would continue.
But he later lashed out at the president over Mr Trump's spending bill and its implications for America's debt burden.
In a sign of the intensity of the backlash against Mr Musk over his association with Mr Trump, a group of French drivers sued the company this month, claiming the billionaire was turning their vehicles into 'extreme Right' symbols.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
McDermott, Schulte partnerships vote to approve law firm merger
June 26 (Reuters) - Partners at U.S. law firms McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel have voted to merge effective Aug. 1, the firms said in a joint statement on Thursday. The deal is set to create a 1,750-lawyer firm with more than 20 offices globally, in the latest major legal industry merger. The combined firm will be named McDermott Will & Schulte. The two firms in May said they were finalizing a merger deal. Chicago-founded McDermott, the larger firm with about 1,400 lawyers, generated more than $2.2 billion in gross revenue in 2024, according to figures reported by The American Lawyer. The firm is known for advising healthcare and other clients in a range of practice areas. New York-founded Schulte, which is focused on advising hedge funds and other private capital clients, brought in more than $618 million in gross revenue last year, according to the American Lawyer. Consolidation has been a theme in the legal industry for decades, as firms seek scale in a quest for increased market share and profitability. The most recent major law firm tie-up was that of Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin, which merged on June 1 to create Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, which has more than 2,700 lawyers. Last year, Allen & Overy combined with Shearman & Sterling to create A&O Shearman, with nearly 4,000 lawyers.
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
J.M. Smucker to remove artificial food dyes by end-2027
June 26 (Reuters) - Jif peanut butter maker J.M. Smucker (SJM.N), opens new tab said on Thursday it would remove synthetic food colors from all consumer food products by the end of 2027. The company said this move would impact its sugar-free fruit spreads, ice cream toppings as well as some sweet baked goods from its Hostess brand portfolio. J.M. Smucker said majority of its products currently available to K-12 schools do not contain any artificial colors, and is working with distribution partners to stop selling products with synthetic dyes to K-12 schools by the 2026-2027 school year. Packaged food makers, including Conagra Brands (CAG.N), opens new tab and General Mills (GIS.N), opens new tab, have been committing to eliminate the use of artificial colors from their product categories as they align themselves with the plans of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply. Earlier this month, Kraft Heinz (KHC.O), opens new tab also said it would stop launching new products containing artificial colors in the U.S. and plans to remove synthetic dyes from existing items by the end of 2027.
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
UnitedHealth appoints new CEO to run health services division
NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group's (UNH.N), opens new tab health services segment, Optum Health, will be led by Patrick Conway, according to an internal company memo. A spokesperson for UnitedHealth said Conway's experience in value-based care, where payment is generated from keeping patients healthy, drove the health insurer's new appointment. 'Leadership changes are consistent with the company's longstanding, intentional approach to develop an executive team with a range of experiences across its diverse portfolio of businesses," the spokesperson said. The company named former Optum Health CEO Amar Desai as vice-chairman of the unit. UnitedHealth Group named a new company-wide CEO, veteran Stephen Hemsley, to steer the healthcare giant following its first earnings miss since 2008. Conway in April was appointed CEO of UnitedHealth's Optum segment, which operates its Optum Health unit, and previously ran its Optum Rx pharmacy benefit manager. Optum Health, which operates medical clinics and offers nursing services, serves as UnitedHealth's healthcare delivery arm. In a first-quarter earnings call, UnitedHealth detailed underperforming revenue at Optum Health, citing reduced engagement from Medicare Advantage patients. A May Wall Street Journal report detailed a criminal probe by the Department of Justice on UnitedHealth's billing practices, related to in-home visits it conducts within Optum Health. Hemsley in a June shareholder meeting said that the company was undertaking a review of practices across its business, apologizing for recent underperformance in earnings.
