Share on Facebook Afshar joined Tesla as an engineer in 2017 and rose swiftly through the ranks. In October 2024, he was promoted to Vice President overseeing business operations in North America and Europe. Tesla has reportedly fired Omead Afshar, its Head of Operations for North America and Europe, in a significant shake-up of its leadership team, reports ToI Business Desk. Afshar, often referred to as “Elon Musk’s fixer,” was considered one of the most influential figures at the EV giant and had been instrumental in driving several of Tesla’s major projects. According to a Forbes report, Afshar’s departure comes amid a troubling period for Tesla, marked by declining sales in multiple key markets. The company has seen its electric vehicle sales in Europe fall for the fifth straight month, while U.S. sales have also dipped. In China, Tesla's primary international market, the company experienced a 15per cent sales drop in May. Advt His stint in Tesla Afshar joined Tesla as an engineer in 2017 and rose swiftly through the ranks. In October 2024, he was promoted to Vice President overseeing business operations in North America and Europe. He had relocated to Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, during Elon Musk’s leadership restructuring and was widely seen as a trusted lieutenant. His dismissal came just days before the end of Q2 2025, fueling speculation that the company’s weak performance may have triggered leadership changes. A November 2024 Wall Street Journal profile described him as “Musk’s fixer,” known for executing high-pressure tasks and steering critical company initiatives. Afshar had recently posted on X (formerly Twitter) celebrating the launch of Tesla’s much-anticipated robotaxi, calling it an “absolutely historic day” for the company. However, the rollout has since faced operational challenges, raising questions about internal leadership dynamics. Afshar was also behind the development of Tesla’s gigafactory in Austin and had a minimalistic job title on LinkedIn, symbolized only by a cowboy hat emoji. His exit follows the recent resignation of Milan Kovac, head of engineering for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project, who left citing personal reasons. Advt With these high-profile departures, Tesla’s leadership is now down to just three named executive officers: CEO Elon Musk, CFO Vaibhav Taneja, and Tom Zhu, Senior Vice President of Automotive. The company has not yet issued an official statement on Afshar’s departure.