High-ranking Tesla director announces sudden departure from company — here's the potential impact

In yet another surprise shakeup at one of the world's top makers of electric vehicles, Tesla's head of battery architecture has informed coworkers he is leaving the company, Reuters reported, citing The Information. Vineet Mehta's departure adds to the list of prominent staffers who have recently severed long-standing ties with the embattled automaker, leaving consumers to wonder what the trend means for the future of Tesla and EVs in general. 

What's happening?

The departure of Mehta, who originally joined Tesla in 2007 and most recently listed his title on LinkedIn as "Director - Battery Technology & Powertrain Architecture/Modeling," comes a year after senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering Drew Baglino announced his own resignation on X, formerly Twitter. 

Like Mehta, Baglino was a long-tenured Tesla employee, having started in 2006. Baglino has since founded the electronic hardware company Heron Power. Further, on the same day as Baglino's tweet, Bloomberg News reporter Ed Ludlow posted that Rohan Patel, Tesla's vice president of public policy and business development, also was leaving Tesla. 

More recently, Tesla's director of accounting controllership, Harsh Rungta, announced his resignation in April, according to Electrek, a couple of years after the company's then-CFO, Zach Kirkhorn, resigned in a way that some described as "abruptly." 

It's normal for a company to see some of its employees come and go, though Mehta and Baglino had been with the company since its early days, and Mehta's and Rungta's departures came amid the rollout of Tesla's highly disappointing financial results for the first quarter of 2025, making the moves more notable. Among other troubling figures, the company revealed a staggering 71% drop in net income versus the year prior, according to CNBC. 

Regardless of their motivations for cutting ties, the departure of big names in a relatively short period of time means greater uncertainty for consumers in the market for a new electric vehicle. It is unclear if Mehta's departure has any relevance to the company's recently revealed breakthroughs involving its battery technology in April. 

Why is the departure of key Tesla brass important?

Regardless of how you feel about Tesla, as formerly the world's largest manufacturer of EVs, the company has a pivotal role to play in efforts to transition away from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and to reduce transportation-related emissions. Tesla has been facing protests and lagging sales figures in recent months on the heels of CEO Elon Musk's political activity and statements, which have seemingly made the brand a more polarizing one for consumers.

That turmoil, coupled with growing competition from other EV makers, might lead consumers in the market for a new electric vehicle to question whether Tesla is the right choice for them. And as two of the recent big-name departures have been in the battery technology side, it's reasonable to wonder whether the company will lose any ground to competitors on battery innovation or if it will continue to invest enough to replace them with similarly talented personnel. 

What's being done about the availability of EVs?

Thankfully for consumers and the environment, Tesla's recent challenges are not reflective of the EV industry as a whole, with EV sales increasing dramatically in recent years and rapid growth expected to continue into the future. According to Reuters, global sales of EVs in March 2025 were up 29% over the same period a year prior, driven by 36% growth in China and 24% in Europe.

That EV sales as a whole have continued to grow even as Tesla's sales have dropped is a strong reminder that the EV market has expanded greatly in recent years to include many more options for consumers. Several of those are also eligible for Inflation Reduction Act credits of up to $7,500, with a recently updated list here. 

If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost 💰 Battery range 🔋 Power and speed 💪 The way it looks 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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