Tesla executive Jerome Guillen has decided to part with the company. After spending more than a decade with the company, Guillen left the company on June 3. He was among the top four executives who were working closely with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. Guillen recently served as president of heavy trucking. He was given the responsibility on March 11, 2020. “We thank Guillen for all his contributions to the company and wish him well in his future career,” the company said in an SEC filing. But the document hardly talks anything about why he left the company. According to people familiar with the development, Guillen was the brain behind the ramp-up of Model 3 production three years ago. Apart from being the top lieutenant of Musk, Guillen also served as the president of Tesla’s automotive business.
Analysts feel that it is a huge and unexpected loss for the company. Analyst Pierre Ferragu said that the departure is part of a pattern of departure of top-level executives of the company. “Guillen has contributed a lot to the company. However, Tesla will continue to attract other top executives.” The development had a visible impact on the shares of Tesla as it fell as much 0.8 percent in postmarket trading. Guillen joined Tesla in 2010 as program director for the Model S. The model has been a breakthrough electric vehicle that created the ground for the crossover Model X and extremely popular Model 3. According to Tesla’s latest annual reports, Guillen – who is French – was 48 years old. He went on long leave in the year 2015 but returned to lead the Semi truck program of the company. Two years later, he was promoted as the head of the automotive operations. But the sudden departure took almost everyone by surprise. Guillen has so far not reacted to the development.
Tesla has been facing the departure of top executives for years. The departures come as the company is looking to ramp up the production of electric vehicles. Most recently, Kevin Kassekert left Tesla after working with the company for almost seven years. Kassekert was the man behind the construction of Gigafactories. Earlier to his, Dane Butswinkas, the general counsel of Tesla left the company and returned to his practice in Washington, D.C. Earlier in 2018, Jeff Jones – head of global security, left Tesla after working for just 11 months on the job. Several others, including Gilbert Passin and Gabrielle Toledano, left the company the same year.
