Two Tesla executives, Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel, are stepping down from their posts after the company announced steep layoffs. Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed gratitude to both executives via his social media platform, X.
Two Tesla Executives Leave Amid Steep Layoffs
According to CNBC, Drew Baglino and Rohan Patel announced Monday that they are leaving the company. Baglino has been with Tesla since 2006 and has held various roles within the company, starting as a firmware and electrical engineer.
His most recent position was senior vice president for powertrain and energy engineering, and he directly reported to Elon Musk.
Patel also joined Tesla in 2016 and brought his experience as a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama on climate and energy matters, among other policy issues. He will be stepping down from his post as Tesla's vice president of public policy and business development.
Tesla Laying Off 14,000 Staff Under Elon Musk
The two Tesla executives' exits came shortly after the announcement that close to 14,000 Tesla employees worldwide were laid off over the weekend, roughly 10 percent of the company's workforce under Elon Musk.
Drew Baglino wrote on X that he "made the difficult decision to move on from Tesla after 18 years" and was "so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years."
"I loved tackling nearly every problem we solved as a team and feel gratified to have contributed to the mission of accelerating the transition to sustainable energy, a mission that I am quite passionate about," he added.
Rohan Patel said in a separate post on X that he was "truly honored to have worked" at Tesla.
"The past 8 years at Tesla have been filled with every emotion - but the feeling I have today is utmost gratitude," Patel wrote.
"My plans are to be a recess monitor for my 2nd grade daughter, practice my violin, go to a bunch of bucket list sporting events and take my very patient wife on some long intended travel," he added.
In reply to their X posts, Musk thanked them both for their service at the electric vehicle maker. The Tesla CEO also said in a separate X post on Monday that "about every 5 years, we need to reorganize and streamline the company for the next phase of growth."
Join the Conversation