Elon Musk's aide Omead Afshar exits Tesla amid leadership churn and internal challenges

His exit marks another high-level departure at a time when the electric vehicle maker faces intensifying headwinds.

Multiple Tesla employees were informed internally in recent days that Afshar had stepped down.

His name was also no longer visible in the company’s internal directory, two people with knowledge of the development said.

The circumstances surrounding his departure remain unclear.

Afshar, Musk, and Tesla have yet to publicly comment.

Afshar, who has served in Musk’s inner circle since 2017, was last year elevated to oversee Tesla’s sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe.

These regions have become increasingly challenging for the automaker amid declining sales, growing EV competition, and public criticism linked to Musk’s political ties, particularly his alignment with President Donald Trump’s administration.

His departure comes close on the heels of another senior-level exit — Milan Kovac, head of engineering for Tesla’s Optimus robot project, who left the company to prioritise family time.

In a post on X, the platform owned by Musk, Afshar reflected on his demanding early days at Tesla during the ramp-up of the Model 3.

“I was with Elon nearly every single day during Model 3 hell,” he wrote, recalling time spent working through holidays and nearly missing his brother’s wedding.

Afshar was instrumental in the construction of Tesla’s gigafactory in Austin and has been active on social media this week, posting support for Tesla’s upcoming robotaxi launch.

Internally, he was once scrutinised for his involvement in procuring rare construction materials, including specialised glass, Bloomberg reported in 2022.

Before Tesla, Afshar also worked at SpaceX, another Musk-led venture, underscoring the fluidity with which top talent often moves across Musk’s various companies.

At present, Tesla officially lists only three top executive officers: Elon Musk, CFO Vaibhav Taneja, and Tom Zhu, Senior VP of Automotive.