Tesla continues to face challenges as yet another executive steps down: 'The talent bleed continues'

Another Tesla executive is leaving the company, the latest departure in what has been a year of considerable change.

Electrek reported that Piero Landolfi, director of service in North America, left Tesla after nearly nine years with the electric vehicle giant. Landolfi confirmed his departure on LinkedIn and is now the senior vice president of operations for robotics company Nimble.

"After 8 3/4 years I have made the difficult decision to leave Tesla," Landolfi wrote. "It was hard because of the incredibly talented and passionate people that I had the privilege to work, sweat and laugh with as we were accelerating the world to sustainable energy, against all odds and in spite of what used to be the general beliefs about electric cars."

Landolfi's departure continues a mass exodus of talent from Tesla.

Just this year, the company has lost its head of mechanical engineering, head of manufacturing and sales, director of battery technology, vice president of engineering, vice president of software engineering, two top designers, vice president of sales, and director of human resources.

The departures have left some observers skeptical about Tesla's future.

"The talent bleed continues," Electrek wrote. "... For the longest time, Tesla's ability to attract top talent has been its main advantage. Looking at the comings and goings at Tesla over the last year, this is clearly not the case anymore."

These staff changes are just one part of what has been an eventful 2025 for Tesla. The year started with CEO Elon Musk taking a role as head of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, a move that created political controversy and resulted in protests at Tesla dealerships and factories.

The company's sales have also dipped, including massive drops across key parts of Europe. Perhaps no model is more indicative of this than the Cybertruck, which sold just 4,306 units in the second quarter.

But Musk has said the future of his company lies largely in autonomous cars and robots, and Tesla has grown there. In June, it launched its long-awaited robotaxi project in Austin, Texas, and it has since expanded to California's Bay Area.