Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty
The man behind the Tesla Cybertruck project is hitting the road.
Siddhant Awasthi, who started out as an intern and worked his way up to the position of product lead of the Cybertruck program as per his LinkedIn profile, has announced he’s leaving Tesla after more than eight years with the electric vehicle company. With CEO of Tesla Eon Musk not shying away from the spotlight this year, working with the Trump administration and never being far away from his X timeline, his companies have come under extra scrutiny.
“This decision wasn’t easy, especially with so much exciting growth on the horizon,” he wrote in a lengthy post on the platform. “Tesla vehicles are incredibly complex systems that often don’t get the credit they deserve.”
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The Cybertruck has been controversial due to its polarizing design, several recalls, and its association with Elon Musk’s public image and political stances. Musk once said the plan was to sell anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 of the futuristic, electric-powered pickup trucks a year. But according to a recent recall filing, the company has sold just over 63,000 since it went on sale in November 2023.
Tesla’s growth streak hit a bump: 2024 marked the company’s first year-on-year sales drop since 2011.
November has marked a period of movement among Tesla's program leads as the program manager for the Model Y also announced his departure.
The Tesla Model Y is a fully electric compact SUV introduced in 2020. It’s a hugely popular model, becoming the world’s best selling car in 2023 and the first electric vehicle to achieve this title.
Emmanuel Lamacchia announced on Sunday that he’s leaving after nearly eight years, adding to a string of high-profile departures. He joined Tesla in 2018 and has spent more than four years leading the Model Y program, steering its production and global rollout across multiple factories.”
"What a journey it's been... from leading NPI (new product introduction) for Model 3 and Model Y variants to becoming the Vehicle Program Manager for Model Y, the best-selling car in the world," Lamacchia wrote in LinkedIn post.
The departures come as Tesla shifts towards robotaxis and AI-driven projects. The business has has lost several senior program managers over the past year, including Daniel Ho, known for the Model 3 launch, and David Zhang, who led the Model S and Model X programs over the past year.
A surge of U.S. buyers rushing to claim the $7,500 tax credit pushed Tesla to record third-quarter deliveries. But with the incentive gone, analysts predict a sharp slowdown in the fourth quarter.
