Tesla has lost another senior leader, with Raj Jegannathan announcing his departure after more than 13 years at the company — and this time, the exit carries added weight. Jegannathan wasn’t just a longtime infrastructure and AI executive; he had also recently been named Tesla’s new head of North American Sales, Service, and Delivery following the departure of Troy Jones last summer. His exit comes just months after stepping into that role, making him the second North American sales chief to leave in the span of a year.
Jegannathan confirmed his departure in a reflective LinkedIn post, closing the chapter on a career that spanned some of Tesla’s most transformative years. “It is challenging to encapsulate 13 years in a single post. The journey at Tesla has been one of continuous evolution,” he wrote. Over that time, Jegannathan played a key role well beyond sales, touching nearly every layer of the company’s internal operations.
He highlighted his work “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,” underscoring just how broad his remit had become. That cross-functional experience likely made him a natural internal choice to step into the North American sales role after Jones’ exit, particularly as Tesla increasingly positions itself as a “physical AI company” rather than a traditional automaker.
According to Jegannathan, that breadth was essential to Tesla’s strategy. “A comprehensive end-to-end understanding of the business has been essential—enabling the team to harness AI effectively to achieve meaningful outcomes across products and customer support,” he said. It’s a telling remark as Tesla pushes deeper into autonomy, Optimus humanoid robots, and AI-driven services, all while navigating a more competitive and price-sensitive EV market.
In his farewell, Jegannathan struck a gracious tone toward his colleagues. “To the teams: You are exceptional. Thank you for being partners and for teaching something new every day,” he wrote, adding, “As I move on, I do so with a full heart and excitement for what lies ahead. Thank you Tesla for this wonderful opportunity!”
His departure adds to a growing list of high-profile Tesla exits over the past year, including Troy Jones’ own departure after 15 years, the exit of Optimus AI lead Ashish Kumar for Meta, and the more recent departure of Tesla’s Cybertruck program manager. While executive turnover isn’t unusual at Tesla, losing two heads of North American sales within a year raises fresh questions about stability in one of the company’s most critical regions.
Tesla has not yet commented on who will fill the role next.
