Tesla's executive turmoil, report: Musk fired close friend executive Afshar, HR director resigned

On Thursday, media reports citing informed sources revealed that Omead Afshar, a key executive at Tesla and one of Elon Musk's closest friends, has left the company. Subsequent media reports indicated that Musk fired Afshar.

In recent days, news of Afshar's departure has circulated among some employees. Afshar's name seems to no longer appear in the internal directory. Some supervisors who previously reported to Omead Afshar have now shifted to reporting to Tom Zhu, Senior Vice President of Tesla's automotive business.

Analysts pointed out that this is the latest high-level personnel change during a turbulent period for Tesla. These personnel changes highlight a tumultuous year for Tesla, with its stock price having fallen by about 19%. Following the media reports of Afshar's departure, Tesla's stock briefly turned downward, but overall, there was little change on Thursday in Eastern Time.

Previously, Milan Kovac, who was in charge of the "Optimus" humanoid robot project, resigned, citing a desire to spend more time with family. Jenna Ferrua, who was listed as the North American Human Resources Director on LinkedIn, has also left, and her name similarly no longer appears in the company directory.

Currently, Musk is attempting to shift the company's focus towards artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous vehicles, recently launching a small number of long-promised autonomous taxis in Austin. Tesla is expected to announce its global delivery data for the second quarter next week.

Musk, Afshar, and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Afshar's Tenure at Tesla

According to Afshar's LinkedIn profile, he joined Tesla in 2017 when the automaker was beginning to ramp up production of the Model 3 sedan.

Afshar appeared at Tesla's Shanghai manufacturing plant in 2019, serving as a member of the CEO's office, and was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe. These two markets have recently become challenging for Tesla:

Demand for electric vehicles has weakened, while Musk has spent considerable time in Washington. Tesla's sales have significantly declined due to intensified competition and consumer backlash against Musk's role in the Trump administration.

Afshar stated in 2024 on Musk's social media platform X: "During the Model 3 hell, I was with Elon almost every day, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, his birthday, and I almost missed his brother's wedding."

Recently, Afshar has continued to post frequently on social media, including praising the robot taxi project this week.

Afshar was also responsible for overseeing the construction of Tesla's Austin factory. Since 2017, he has been a member of the CEO's office, with his latest position on LinkedIn showing a "cowboy hat" emoji.

According to media reports, Afshar faced internal scrutiny in 2022 for difficulties in procuring hard-to-get construction materials (such as special glass) Within Musk's corporate system, it is not uncommon for executives to be transferred between different companies; Afshar briefly worked at SpaceX