Tesla CEO Elon Musk stands at a podium while attending a startup forum in Hong Kong, China.
Bobby Yip | Reuters
Elon Musk has run two ambitious tech companies simultaneously since becoming chairman and later CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla while running SpaceX, his internet business with reusable rockets and satellites.
He launched a brain-computer interface startup Neuralink and a drilling business called Boring Co. in 2017, and is in the midst of a contentious lawsuit with Twitter over a failed buyout.
With his attention divided, Musk relies on a large team of deputies — more than 20 people today — to keep the business going at Tesla. His team of direct reports frequently changes with strategic or organizational changes, occasional “on-the-spot firings” by the living CEO, and resignations.
Here are the direct reports we know of as of September 2022. The data is compiled from interviews with current and recent Tesla employees, LinkedIn profiles, internal and public Tesla records, and may not include all people who report to it.
The employee numbers are approximate and refer to the number of people each of Musk’s direct reports manages as of early September.
About 22% of the CEO’s direct reports are now based in Texas, about half are still based in California, and more than 90% are men.
Musk will have to rely on these replacements as Tesla works to bring its new factories in Grünheide, Germany, and Austin, Texas, to full production and demonstrate progress on many other goals.
Musk has told shareholders and fans that Tesla will “completely solve self-driving” this year, improve vehicle service and repairs, and begin deliveries of the experimental Cybertruck pickup truck by mid-2023. He also said Tesla will boosted its battery manufacturing capabilities to be able to produce 4,680 batteries worth 100 gigawatt hours this year alone, enough to power more than 1 million of its cars.
Musk’s direct reports have also recently had to navigate downsizing amid uncertain economic times.
The CEO suddenly announced steep cuts to Tesla’s workforce in late May during a challenging second quarter marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and outbreaks of Covid-19 in China.
In June, Tesla closed an entire Autopilot office in San Mateo, Calif., and fired at least some employees who had previously been authorized to work remotely but who disagreed with Musk’s order to work at a Tesla office for at least 40 hours per week. The CEO cited a “super bad feeling” about the economy in an email to Tesla staff in June.
However, Tesla’s former senior director of artificial intelligence, Andrei Karpati, was not among those who were laid off or fired by Musk – he officially announced his resignation from the company in July. Autopilot leader Ashok Eluswamy reports directly to Musk for now.
Other direct reports to Musk who parted ways with Tesla in 2022 include former Nevada Gigafactory vice president Chris Lister, as CNBC previously reported, and Gene Frazier, who was Tesla’s senior director of employee relations, according to insiders documents reviewed by CNBC.
David Searle, who previously headed Tesla’s legal department, is still employed there, records show. Insiders said they expect Searle to leave in the coming months because he previously managed more than a dozen employees and now has just one direct report listed on internal organizational charts.
According to public and internal records, senior director of legal affairs Dina Eskin now acts as Tesla’s legal manager and is effectively the company’s general counsel. As of late 2019, Tesla has not officially hired a general counsel.