Musk Confidant Afshar Leaves Tesla In Latest High-Level Exit

Omead Afshar, a powerful executive at Tesla Inc. and one of Elon Musk’s closest confidants, has left the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Afshar's departure follows other prominent exits in recent weeks. I Photo: Omead Afshar X

This marks the latest high-level departure during a volatile period for the electric vehicle maker, Dana Hull and Ed Ludlow reported for Bloomberg News .

News of Afshar’s exit has been circulating internally among some employees in recent days, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters. His name no longer appeared in Tesla’s internal directory, two of the sources said.

The reason for his departure and his future plans were not immediately clear.

Afshar, who had worked in the office of the CEO, was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe—markets that have recently become pain points for the automaker.

Sales have been plunging amid rising competition and consumer backlash over Musk’s involvement in U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

His departure follows other prominent exits in recent weeks. Milan Kovac, head of engineering for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program, stepped down citing a desire to spend more time with family.

Jenna Ferrua, listed on LinkedIn as a human resources director for North America, has also left and no longer appears in Tesla’s directory.

These personnel changes punctuate a tumultuous year for Tesla, whose shares have fallen about 19% amid weakening demand for its EV models and Musk’s growing political involvement in Washington.