Tesla continues battling with longtime executive departures, as the company accelerates its transformation from an EV manufacturer into an autonomy and robotics company.
The latest exit comes from veteran and Vice President of Finance Sendil Palani, who had been with the company since the first years of Elon Musk’s leadership.
Palani joined Tesla in early 2009 as a Senior Financial Analyst with the primary focus on fundraising and product cost reduction.
At the time, Tesla was preparing to unveil the Model S — its flagship sedan since 2012, and one of two models the company plans to discontinue this year as it converts the production lines to manufacture its Optimus humanoid robot.
Palani was also focused on the company’s initial public offering (IPO), which took place on June 29, 2010.
After a three-year hiatus from Tesla between 2011 and 2014 — during which he worked for Google, among other institutions — Palani returned to the company as Manufacturing Project Manager for the Senior VP of Manufacturing/Operations.
He then progressed through roles as Senior Finance Manager, Director of Engineering Finance, and Senior Director of Finance, overseeing engineering finance, manufacturing finance, and corporate planning, before being promoted to VP of Finance in March 2021.
Just two months ago, the VP of Finance had celebrated its seventeenth year with the company on X, writing, “it’s hard not to remain excited as always. We got a taste of “Amazing Abundance” last year, but 2026 will erase doubt on the concept.”
This Monday, however, in a post shared on both X and LinkedIn, Palani announced that “after seventeen incredible years, my latest chapter at Tesla has come to a close.”
The former executive reiterated his excitement about the company’s newest mission, saying that “when Abundance is achieved and money ceases to have meaning, these lessons will be the most valuable commodity in our economy.”
Additionally, Palani told those in the “outside world, who may not have experienced the above first-hand,” to remember that “Tesla’s mission is so ambitious and complex that any narrative about the company is naturally an oversimplification.”
Addressing Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk directly, the former VP thanked him for his “endless love of humanity, and for demonstrating the power of thinking from first principles at all times, about all things.”
Musk personally replied to the announcement a few hours later.
“Thanks for an epic contribution over many years!,” he wrote.
Veteran Exits
Veteran engineering executive Raj Jegannathan announced last month that he was leaving the company after 13 years.
The executive announced his departure on LinkedIn, writing that it “is challenging to encapsulate 13 years in a single post” and that, as “I move on, I do so with a full heart and excitement for what lies ahead.”
In early 2025, he was elevated to Vice President of IT, AI Infrastructure, Apps, Infosec, and Vehicle Service Operations.
Last July, Reuters had reported that Jegannathan had been promoted to lead the company’s sales operations, though it was unclear whether the appointment was permanent or an interim move.
He was notably filling in for Troy Jones, the company’s former Vice President of North America Sales and Service.
Jones, who worked for the company for over 15 years, left Tesla in mid-July, according to a Wall Street Journal report days before Jegannathan’s alleged appointment.
According to Bloomberg, Tesla has named Joe Ward, its Vice President for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), to oversee sales globally.
However, the executive has not yet changed his LinkedIn role, as of Friday.
Ward has been with Tesla for 16 years. He has been responsible for operations in the EMEA markets for over five years, will reportedly lead the company’s sales, service, and delivery organization.
Ahead of Troy Jones’ departure last summer, Bloomberg also reported that Omead Afshar, who worked as a Project Manager at the Office of the CEO, left the company.
Afshar was one of CEO Elon Musk’s most trusted aides and a long-time fixture within the company’s senior leadership for the past eight years.
Other executive departures include Drew Baligno, former Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy, who left in mid-2024 after 18 years with the company.
Autonomy-Related Exits
Thomas Dmytryk, who led the team that built Tesla’s over-the-air update system and the software for its Robotaxi ride-hailing service, has left the company after 11 years.
He had served as Director for the past seven months, following several years as a Senior Software Engineering Manager.
Writing about his departure on LinkedIn, Dmytryk said the future was “extremely bright” and Tesla‘s ambitions are “intact, just getting started as a transformative company that could elevate billions of lives.
“So why leave now?! Human life’s always been my North Star, right now I need to be with mines,” he justified.
Milan Kovac, the company’s VP of Engineering and the head of the Optimus program, also exited in mid-2025.
Kovac joined Tesla in 2016 and became the director of Optimus and Autopilot Engineering in 2022.
Last June, Kovac wrote on X that he’s “been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad.”
The executive said he wanted to make it clear that his this is the only reason for his exit, which “has absolutely nothing to do with anything else.”
Kovac thanked CEO Elon Musk in the post, adding, “Elon, you’ve taught me to discern signal from noise, hardcore resilience, and many fundamental principles of engineering. I am forever grateful. Tesla will win, I guarantee you that.”
Hours later, the engineer clarified on the replies of the post, “(Seems like I was somewhat confusing: I’ll have to travel back and forth more often, but there’s no way I leave this beautiful country anytime soon 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸)”
Earlier this year, Hyundai announced it had tapped the former Tesla executive to lead its autonomous projects at Boston Dynamics.
Program Leaders
Victor Nechita, who served as Tesla’s vehicle program manager for the Cybercab, announced in late February that he was leaving the company.
“After nearly 6 years, I’ve decided to leave Tesla and start a new chapter back on the east coast,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Nechita started as an intern in the Model 3 production line in 2017. In 2020, he joined the vehicle engineering team.
Four years later, the engineer was promoted to Program Manager for the company’s first purpose-built fully autonomous vehicle — the Cybercab — for which production is set to begin next month.
“Leading the team through the development of Cybercab has been a humbling experience, watching so many dedicated individuals develop a product that has pushed the boundaries of efficiency, safety, and affordability,” Nechita said.
Late last year, both program managers for the company’s best-selling models exited Tesla in the space of 24 hours.
Siddhant Awasthi, program manager for the Cybertruck and Model 3, and Emmanuel Lamacchia, who oversaw the Model Y, left the company after about eight years.
