Tesla has lost one of its top long-time leaders in the financial department and one of only two female vice presidents.
Earlier this year, Tesla suffered a purge of talent, both intentionally and unintentionally. Elon Musk started several waves of layoffs that resulted in 15 to 20% of Tesla’s workforce exiting.
However, we also reported that employees left after the layoffs because company morale was hit.
A few months later, we learn of another executive leaving Tesla: Sreela Venkataratnam.
Top comment by Beario
It is always bad to lose talented people from an organization, but what is concerning here is the reasoning for departing the organization. When a person cites reasons like taking a break or needing to be with family it suggests that person is somehow burnt out and had enough. I know a few employees and nothing is going to convince me that Tesla employees are not overworked. In general, Tesla should focus on hiring employees.
Venkataratnam joined Tesla more than a decade ago as a director of financial operations. She held several major roles in Tesla’s finance department, including as Vice President, Finance and Business Operations for the last 5 years.
She announced that she is leaving Tesla in a LinkedIn post:
I joined as Director of Finance Operations in early 2013, when Tesla was a company with less than $1B in yearly revenues, a market cap of ~$4B and less than 3000 cars delivered in a year. Leaving as a Vice President (one of only two women VPs in the company) with annual revenues soaring close to $100B, market cap to $700B (reaching $1T during the pandemic) and cars delivered in a year to more than 1.8 million, I am proud of how much we’ve achieved together.
Venkataratnam didn’t say where she was going other than taking a break:
As I take a break to spend quality time with family, reconnect with old friends, and focus on personal well-being, I am energized for what lies ahead. When the time is right, I am hopeful that I will be fortunate to find another incredible opportunity like Tesla, where I can drive impactful change and contribute to a meaningful mission with exceptional people.
Last year, Tesla also lost its Chief Financial Officer, Zachary Kirkhorn, who was replaced by then Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja.
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