Elon Musk has reportedly fired Omead Afshar, Tesla’s head of manufacturing and operations in North America and Europe, according to Forbes.
Afshar’s exit follows Milan Kovac, the head of engineering on Tesla’s Optimus robot, who left the company in early June.
Afshar was promoted to the role last year, Bloomberg reports, after working for multiple different Musk-owned companies since 2017.
The company is also struggling in China, where sales fell 15 percent in the same month.
While SpaceX still benefits from government contracts, Tesla’s sales are vulnerable to public opinion, something the Tesla Takedown movement has been leveraging to its advantage with protests outside of the company’s dealerships.
Forbes claims that Tesla’s head of operations and manufacturing in North America and Europe, Omead Afshar, has been fired by Elon Musk. Bloomberg and CNBC both supported the report. Afshar’s departure comes after that of Milan Kovac, who left Tesla in early June as the head of engineering for the Optimus robot.
According to Bloomberg, Afshar was elevated to the position last year after serving in various Musk-owned businesses since 2017. Given the difficulties Tesla has had selling cars, it is not shocking that he left at this time. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, new Tesla registrations fell by almost 41% in May, and sales in Europe have decreased for the fifth consecutive month. The business is also having trouble in China, where sales dropped 15% in the same month.
It is obvious that Musk bears the responsibility, even though he seems to be holding Afshar accountable. Musk and his businesses have been permanently tarnished by their involvement in helping to finance President Donald Trump’s reelection in the US, leading the disastrous DOGE cost-cutting initiatives following his election, and generally upholding a repulsive public image. Government contracts are still advantageous to SpaceX, but Tesla’s sales are susceptible to public opinion, which the Tesla Takedown movement has been taking advantage of by staging protests outside the company’s dealerships.
