Siddhant Awasthi, who led Tesla’s Cybertruck program from engineering to large-scale production, has announced his departure from Elon Musk’s EV giant after more than eight years with the company. This is the latest in a long series of executive departures from every corner of Musk’s business empire.
CNBC reports that Elon Musk’s Tesla is bidding farewell to Siddhant Awasthi, the head of its Cybertruck program. Awasthi, who began his journey at Tesla as an intern eight years ago, has been instrumental in overseeing the development and production of the Cybertruck, as well as the Model 3 program since July of last year.
In a LinkedIn post on Sunday, Awasthi expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to lead the Cybertruck initiative, stating, “Eight years ago, when I started as an intern, I never dreamed I’d one day have the opportunity to lead the Cybertruck program and bring it to reality.” His responsibilities encompassed product strategy, quality enhancements, and supply chain management, demonstrating his significant role in bringing the innovative vehicle to market.
Despite Tesla’s record deliveries in the third quarter, driven by a surge in U.S. buyers seeking to take advantage of a $7,500 tax credit before its expiration on September 30, analysts anticipate a sharp decline in sales for the fourth quarter. The discontinuation of the incentive is expected to impact the demand for electric vehicles, including the Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck, Tesla’s EV pickup truck, has faced its share of challenges since its unveiling in November 2023. The company has resorted to offering substantial discounts on inventory vehicles in recent months to boost sales, which have flopped after the truck’s introduction. According to a U.S. recall filing in March, 46,096 Cybertrucks had been produced between the vehicle’s introduction and early this year. The Cybertruck has also recently faced its tenth recall after just two years in production.
Breitbart News reported in October that Musk is facing an ongoing exodus of top executives and talent from all of his companies:
Tesla and xAI, two of Elon Musk’s flagship companies, have experienced significant churn among their senior ranks in recent months. Key members of Tesla’s U.S. sales team, battery and power-train operations, public affairs arm, and its chief information officer have all departed. The exodus has also impacted core members of the Optimus robot and AI teams on which Musk has staked much of the electric vehicle maker’s future.
Turnover has been even more rapid at xAI, the artificial intelligence startup Musk founded two years ago and recently merged with his social network X. The company’s chief financial officer and general counsel both left after short stints, resigning within a week of each other. This follows the departure of xAI’s co-founder and chief engineer Igor Babuschkin last month.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
