"It's Too Much Now"...Veteran Executives Leaving Musk's Side

Executives who have long shared the ups and downs with Musk Elon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla, are reportedly leaving the company.

On the 10th (local time), U.S. financial outlet The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and business channel CNBC News reported that Onarage Jeganathan, a vice president who had worked at Tesla for more than 10 years, recently submitted his resignation.

Musk Elon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla. Yonhap News

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Vice President Jeganathan has been responsible for Tesla's core business areas, including artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure, business applications (apps), IT, and information security. He worked at Tesla for 13 years. Considering that Tesla was founded in 2003, he is effectively a veteran who spent half of the company's history there.

Vice President Jeganathan also shared his mixed feelings on his LinkedIn account. He wrote, "It is not easy to sum up 13 years in a single post," adding, "It felt like a process of constant evolution. I am grateful to Tesla for the wonderful opportunity." Although the specific reason for his departure has not been disclosed, it has been reported that his workload increased as Tesla executives have recently been leaving the company one by one.

Key executives are steadily leaving Tesla at the moment. Last year, Vice President Omid Afshar, who had been the top production and operations executive for North America and Europe, resigned. North America HR chief Jenna Ferrua, AI chief Milan Kovac, Vinit Mehta, who had been the top executive in the secondary battery division, and David Lau, who was in charge of software, have also left.

xAI's data center under construction in Tennessee, United States. xAI

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Signs of executive departures are also emerging at Musk CEO's other companies. At xAI, the AI company that merged with reusable rocket company SpaceX, co-founder Tony Wu has expressed his intention to step down.

Some observers point to discord between Musk CEO and his executives, as well as the demanding workload, as the reasons behind the series of talent outflows. In October last year, British financial outlet the Financial Times (FT) interviewed 12 current and former Tesla employees and analyzed that employees are feeling worn out by Musk CEO's excessive work demands. One adviser to Musk CEO told the FT that "on the board, they jokingly say there is a separate 'Tesla time'," complaining that people are being pushed to the limit.

Another close associate said, "Elon's behavior is having a broad impact on morale, talent retention, and recruitment," and argued, "In the past, (Musk CEO) appealed to everyone, but now he is in a position where he appeals only to certain groups."

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