Tesla VP Raj Jegannathan, who was tapped to lead North American sales after the previous head was dismissed, has announced his departure after 13 years at the automaker. It’s the latest in a string of high-profile exits as Tesla’s sales continue to struggle.
Tesla’s ongoing talent exodus
Jegannathan announced his departure in a LinkedIn post on Sunday, writing:
It is challenging to encapsulate 13 years in a single post. The journey at Tesla has been one of continuous evolution. From the technical intricacies of designing, building, and operating one of the world’s largest AI clusters to impactful contributions in IT, Security, Sales, and Service, it has been a privilege to serve.
His official title was VP of Information Technology, AI Infrastructure, Business Apps, and Information Security. But Jegannathan took on an additional critical role last year when he was tasked with leading Tesla’s North American sales team after longtime sales head Troy Jones was dismissed in July 2025.
Jones’ departure came amid demand problems for the automaker, and Jegannathan’s exit means Tesla has now lost two North American sales leaders in less than a year.
The departure adds to what we’ve been tracking as a significant talent exodus at Tesla. Since the April 2024 layoffs that eliminated over 10% of Tesla’s workforce, the company has seen a steady stream of senior leaders head for the exits.
Recent notable departures in sales and service include:
- Troy Jones: Head of Sales (North America) — July 2025
- Omead Afshar: VP/Head of Sales and Manufacturing (North America and Europe) — June 2025
- Tesla’s head of service in North America — August 2025
The timing is particularly concerning. Tesla’s annual revenue declined 3% in 2025 — the first year-over-year drop on record — as the company faces an aging vehicle lineup and what many have described as a consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk’s political activities.
Furthermore, we have noticed an uptick in departures at Tesla in the last week, following the revelation that CEO Elon Musk and board member Kimball Musk had a closer relationship with the infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein than they previously claimed.
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by Chris PNW
Words Have Consequences...
A company whose 'primary' revenue stream is (and will continue to be) automotive sales abruptly changes direction and claims to be more about autonomy, taxi services, and robotics (all with high regulatory hurdles) will face the blowback of talent seeking better career opportunities.
Tesla is not moving into a bigger and better position but conceding they cannot be profitable long-term in consumer automotive sales without government welfare in the form of government incentive programs and government contracts/deals.
It is unclear if Tesla believes their robotics income will come from commercial or residential customers but I have no doubt residential consumers (en masse) WILL NOT purchase/lease a $35K robot that comes with a set of mandatory maintenance and software contracts into perpetuity. Anyone who bought a Tesla vehicle several years ago with the anticipation of having true FSD has been burned and hopefully have learned a painful lesson. 1st generation tech is not an investment path to a potentially viable product (FSD Unsupervised).
The North America sales leadership position is becoming a revolving door at Tesla, and that’s not a good sign when demand is your biggest problem.
Jegannathan wasn’t a career sales executive; he came from IT and AI infrastructure. The fact that Tesla tapped him to lead sales after Jones and Afshar left last year suggests either a lack of qualified internal candidates willing to take the role, or a belief that the sales problems are more operational than strategic.
Either way, losing him after just months in the position means whoever comes next will have significant pressure.
I believe Musk was supposed to take over after Afshar, but as I noted at the time, it didn’t seem realistic considering his schedule. Leading Tesla’s NA sales is a full-time job. I wouldn’t be suprised if they got Jegannathan to fill in and it was simply too much for him.
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