New Delhi: Tesla co-founder J.B Sraubel has announced that he will be stepping down from the current role of Chief Technology Officer of the American elecric vehicle manufacturer, only to take a senior advisor role, reported Verge.
Straubel’s position will be taken over by Drew Baglino, Tesla’s vice president of technology.
The announcement came during Tesla earnings call on Wednesday, when the company reported a $408 million los for the second quarter of 2019.
Straubel said, “I am not disappearing, and I just wantd to make sure that people understand that this was not some, you know, lack of confidence in he company, or the team, or anything like that.”
The long time executive in Tesla Inc. started his journey in the Palo Alto-based company shortly after Elon Musk made his first investment.
Tesla CEO Musk gave his long-time colleague a tremendous amount of credit for the company’s development.
Musk said, “I would like to thank J.B. for his fundamental role in creating and enabling Tesla.” He also said, “If we hadn’t had lunch in 2003, Tesla wouldn’t wouldn’t exist, basically.”
The EV manufacturer was founded in 2003 and Musk led a $7.5 million Series A funding round for Tesla in 2004. He became chairman of the company’s board. Straubel joined the Tesla around that time and both he and Musk were rewarded with co-founder designations.
Source: Verge