Elon Musk has fired one of his closest minions, Omead Afshar, from his position as Tesla head of operations for North America and Europe, as the EV giant faces flagging sales and business problems around the world.
Bloomberg reports that Tesla is facing another significant executive departure as Omead Afshar, a powerful leader and one of CEO Elon Musk’s closest allies, has left the company after being fired by Musk, according to people familiar with the matter. The news of Afshar’s exit has been circulating internally among employees in recent days, with his name no longer appearing in the company’s internal directory.
Afshar, who worked in the office of the CEO, was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in the crucial North American and European markets. These regions have become particularly challenging for Tesla recently, with sales declining due to increased competition from China, Tesla’s dated EV lineup, and backlash against Musk from Tesla’s fanatical left-wing customer base.
Afshar’s firing comes on the heels of other prominent departures, including Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, who stepped down citing family reasons, and Jenna Ferrua, a human resources director for North America, who has also left the company.
These personnel changes highlight the tumultuous year Tesla has been experiencing, with its shares falling approximately 19 percent and demand for its electric vehicles waning. Musk has been focusing his efforts on reorienting the company around artificial intelligence, robotics, and driverless cars, recently launching a limited number of the long-awaited Tesla robotaxis in Austin, Texas.
Afshar joined Tesla in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile, just as the company was ramping up production of the Model 3 sedan. He worked closely with Musk during the challenging “Model 3 hell” period, often spending holidays and important personal events alongside the CEO. Afshar was also instrumental in overseeing the construction of Tesla’s plant in Austin.
In 2022, Afshar faced internal scrutiny for his role in purchasing hard-to-obtain construction materials, including a special type of glass that may have been used to build Elon Musk a glass house. It is not uncommon for executives to move between different parts of Musk’s business empire, and Afshar had also worked at SpaceX for a time.
Currently, Tesla has only three named executive officers: Elon Musk, Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja, and Tom Zhu, senior vice president of automotive. The company is expected to report global delivery results for the second quarter next week, which will provide further insight into its current performance and the impact of these executive changes.
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
