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Tesla vice president leaves after 13 years
Tesla vice president Raj Jegannathan, who spent 13 years at the automaker, announced his departure via LinkedIn on February 9.
Jegannathan’s last role was overseeing IT, AI infrastructure, business applications, and information security.
In summer 2025, he reportedly led Tesla’s North American sales team following the dismissal of Troy Jones.
Tesla’s automotive sales declined in 2025, with the company reporting its first revenue drop of 3%.
The automaker faces pressure to improve EV sales and deliver its driverless vehicle technology. Tesla and Jegannathan did not respond to requests for comment.
🔗 Source: CNBC
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Jegannathan’s announced departure is part of a wider executive shake-up at Tesla
- Raj Jegannathan plans to leave Tesla, adding to a run of senior exits.
- In the 12 months before late 2025, at least 10 executives departed, including the program manager for the Model Y plus the program manager for the Cybertruck and Model 3 1.
- Roughly two-thirds of CEO Elon Musk’s direct reports have left since December 2021 2.
- Jegannathan replaced former sales chief Troy Jones, who was dismissed after many years at the automaker 2.
Tesla’s leadership strategy blurs the lines between tech and sales
- Tesla put an IT and AI infrastructure executive in charge of its North American sales team, an unusual choice for the job.
- The company treats EV sales struggles as a data and software tuning problem rather than a classic marketing challenge 3.
- The decision leans on engineering strength over long sales experience.
- Similar shifts appear across tech, where engineers take on business roles and use product know-how plus analytics.
Recent Tesla developments
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