Major shakeup at Tesla as leaders of Model Y program also exits

A second Tesla program manager announced their departure from the company. The senior leader responsible for the best-selling Tesla Model Y followed the Cybertruck leader in stepping down, marking the end of eight-year career at the company.

The first departure came from Siddhant Awasthi, the Program Manager for both the Cybertruck and the long-running Model 3. Awasthi concluded an eight-year career with the company, having been responsible for guiding the Cybertruck from design ideas all the way through to final delivery. His job involved intense cross-functional coordination, meaning he worked with everything from engineering and production to finance and service departments for the stainless-steel pickup.

Emmanuel Lamacchia, the Vehicle Program Manager for the Tesla Model Y, was the next to share his news, posting on social media that he was "moving on" after an "incredible" journey. Lamacchia's resume is impressive, including time spent at Rolls-Royce, a subsidiary of BMW, before he joined Tesla in early 2018.

He was a central figure in the company's New Product Introduction (NPI) teams for both the Model 3 sedan and various Model Y versions. His promotion in May 2021 put him in charge of the Model Y, which is now recognized as the globe's best-selling car.

Lamacchia's crowning achievement was leading the global rollout of the refreshed Model Y, a task that involved converting all four major Tesla production facilities - Fremont, Shanghai, Berlin, and Austin - in just two weeks. This was a feat unseen in the auto industry before.

He also oversaw the recent introduction of new versions of the popular EV. In China, where many buyers prefer larger seating options, Lamacchia's team launched a three-row version in August. Additionally, new Standard and Performance versions of the SUV have started rolling out in Europe and the American market, with production kicking off at Giga Texas and Giga Berlin.

The near-simultaneous exits of Emmanuel Lamacchia and Siddhant Awasthi, two eight-year veterans, signal a potentially large organizational shift for the electric car giant. These managers guided the actual creation and production of the brand's most important EVs, and their departures come when Tesla is under increasing pressure to ramp up sales for all its models, especially the Cybertruck, to compete with a growing field of rivals.

Awasthi showed professional respect for his departing colleague, commenting on Lamacchia's post, "Wish you the best Emmanuel! Leading the best selling vehicle in the world across 4 factories and landing a major refresh. Hats off!" This friendly send-off confirms that, while the company is losing institutional knowledge, the decision seems to be a personal choice for the respected managers.

The loss of program leaders for both the Model Y and the Cybertruck forces immediate changes at Tesla. The company must quickly fill these critical roles to maintain momentum since the success hinges on efficiently scaling production "from prototypes to millions of units," as Lamacchia himself noted, a process these two now-departed veterans helped invent.

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