Siddhant Awasthi, head of Tesla’s Cybertruck program, said on Sunday that he will be leaving the company, following a stint of eight years. Awasthi joined Tesla as an intern, and helped launch the Cybertruck in 2023.
According to his LinkedIn program, he oversaw the Cybertruck program from its engineering phase to large-scale production, leading efforts in product strategy, quality enhancements, and supply chain management, according to his LinkedIn profile. He did not give a reason for his departure.
In addition to heading the Cybertruck initiative, he also took on leadership of Tesla’s Model 3 program last July. “Eight years ago, when I started as an intern, I never dreamed I’d one day have the opportunity to lead the Cybertruck program and bring it to reality,” Awasthi said via LinkedIn.
READ: Tesla sued after teen dies in Cybertruck crash in Bay Area (
Awasthi thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and appeared to reference the approval of the billionaire’s $1 trillion pay package at the company’s annual shareholder meeting last week. “I’m confident Tesla will nail its next big mission (especially after last week), and I’m truly excited for the next chapter of my life,” he said.
Awasthi is the latest in a string of departures from Tesla. Milan Kovac, who led Tesla’s Optimus program, announced his departure from the company in June, while Omead Afshar, a top Musk lieutenant was reportedly fired. Vice President and Head of North America Sales Troy Jones also left in the summer, and Tesla’s director of battery technology Vineet Mehta announced he would step down in May. Peter Bannon, the head of Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer, left in August after Musk shut down the project.
The automaker posted record deliveries in the third quarter, driven by a rush of U.S. buyers trying to cash in on a $7,500 tax credit before it expired on September 30. However, analysts are expecting a slump in the fourth quarter as the incentive for EV purchases vanishes.
READ: Tesla shareholders approve Elon Musk’s record-breaking $1 trillion pay deal (
Cybertruck sales, in the meantime, are not going as well as expected. Tesla sold just 16,000 pickups in the first three quarters of the year, according to data from Cox Automotive. This is far from the stated goal of 250,000.
The vehicle also faced 10 recalls in two years. Most recently, Tesla issued recalls for around 6,200 Cybertrucks over concerns the optional light bar may fly off because the wrong glue was used to secure it.
Tesla was also hit with a lawsuit from the family of a teenager who died in a crash last fall involving the company’s Cybertruck. Court filings indicate that four passengers were inside the vehicle when it collided with a tree and ignited in a small, residential area of California’s Bay Area.