Tesla Undergoing Major Management Shuffle

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said the electric automaker is set to undergo a major management restructuring as it looks to streamline its business processes.

In an internal memo released Monday, Musk said the company would consolidate the jobs of some management personnel under a single title as part of a ‘flattening’ of its upper management. The memo, originally obtained by The Wall Street Journal, was sent out following news that Tesla’s engineering boss, Doug Field, would take a leave of absence for an undisclosed amount of time.

“To ensure that Tesla is well prepared for the future, we have been undertaking a thorough reorganization of our company,” Musk wrote in the memo. “As part of the reorg, we are flattening the management structure to improve communication, combining functions where sensible and trimming activities that are not vital to the success of our mission.”

While it’s not yet clear how long Field will be absent from Tesla, his leave is believed to be temporary. Musk took over part of Field’s responsibilities in April when the company announced Musk would begin to oversee vehicle production from its Fremont factory.

In addition to Field, Tesla’s chief safety regulator, Matthew Schwall, also departed the company this week – defecting to Google’s self-driving car offshoot Waymo.

The management shakeup comes at a critical time for Tesla. The automaker is looking to ramp-up production of its Model 3 as it looks to fulfill a backlog of orders for the electric four-door. The company has also delayed the rollout of optional extras on the Model 3, such as the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version (which is rumored to show up this week), air suspension and the white interior upholstery.

Tesla is hoping to be building 5,000 Model 3s a week by the end of June. The company has been burning through cash at an alarming rate, however, industry experts believe the company will be able to turn a profit once Model 3 production reaches adequate output levels.

[Source: WSJ]