Elon Musk reportedly fires Tesla’s top sales exec

Omead Afshar, Tesla's vice president overseeing sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe, has reportedly been dismissed by CEO Elon Musk, as reported by Forbes. The reasons behind Musk's decision remain unclear, and neither Afshar nor Tesla have provided any comments on the matter. Afshar, known as one of Musk's closest associates, had been actively promoting Tesla's limited rollout of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, just days before his exit. On June 23, he expressed his enthusiasm on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, calling it an "absolutely historic day for Tesla" and thanking Musk for his leadership. This shake-up comes at a challenging time for Tesla, as the company faces a significant decline in sales. In 2024, Tesla experienced its first annual drop in vehicle sales since it began mass production of electric vehicles over a decade ago, selling fewer cars than in 2023. Despite Musk's recent claims of stepping back from U.S. political involvement, sales continued to struggle in the first half of 2025, with the company's profits dropping by 71% year-over-year in the first quarter alone. Furthermore, European sales plummeted nearly 28% year-over-year in May. Tesla is expected to release its global delivery figures for the second quarter next week, followed by financial results in mid-July. Afshar, who joined the company in 2017, had been primarily behind the scenes, gaining responsibility over time and playing a key role in the construction of Tesla's large factory in Austin. However, he faced scrutiny in 2022 when he was investigated for allegedly being involved in a controversial procurement plan for materials linked to a glass building Musk was interested in. During the investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023, Afshar temporarily transitioned to SpaceX and was reportedly involved with X. He was appointed vice president in late 2024 after Tom Zhu, another executive, returned to China. Additionally, Bloomberg News has reported that Jenna Ferrua, Tesla’s North American HR director, has also left the company, although she has not commented on her departure.