Tesla just fired one of its top execs. Omead Afshar, VP of sales and manufacturing for North America and Europe, is out. The news broke via Forbes and Bloomberg Thursday.
No official reason given. Afshar was a close Musk ally and ran major projects, including building Tesla’s huge Austin factory.
Afshar was still publicly backing Tesla’s recent robotaxi rollout in Austin just days ago. On June 23, he posted on X: 
“Absolutely historic day for Tesla,”
“Thank you, Elon, for pushing us all!”
Tesla’s sales plunge sets the stage. The company sold fewer cars in 2024 than 2023—its first annual drop in over a decade. Profits tanked 71% in Q1 2025. European sales fell nearly 28% year-over-year in May. Tesla reports Q2 delivery numbers next week.
Afshar’s history is rocky. In 2022, he became the subject of an internal probe for a shady deal buying materials linked to Musk’s controversial glass building plan. DOJ and SEC investigations followed in 2023.
He briefly moved to SpaceX and even worked on X projects before Musk promoted him to VP late last year, after Tom Zhu shifted back to China.
On the same day, Bloomberg also reported Tesla’s North American HR director, Jenna Ferrua, has left.
Neither Afshar, Musk, nor Tesla responded to requests for comment.
Tesla faces a tough road ahead with leadership shakeups amid sliding sales and rising scrutiny.
