Omead Afshar, Vice President, North America and Europe
After working in the medical device industry, Afshar joined Tesla in 2017 as project manager in the CEO’s office. He later became project director and was promoted to senior director of Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory in 2020, who cleverly counted it with denim emojis.
In 2022, Afshar gradually returned from daily Tesla operations after an internal investigation into Project 42, a glass wall structure that allegedly belongs to Musk, an allegation denied by the CEO. During this period, AFSHAR has been more involved in other Musk Ventures, including SpaceX and X.
His Tesla profile has since rebounded and now oversees the company’s operations in North America and Europe. He was reportedly known for his close ties to Musk, and he earned the nickname “Musk Whisper”.
Lars Moravy, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering
Moravy has served as Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering for the past six years, leading a team of more than 2,000 engineers responsible for hardware design, development, testing, automation and manufacturing. He has worked on every major Tesla model, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck and the upcoming Robotaxi.
Moravy joined Tesla 15 years ago to contribute to vehicle framework development. Before that, he worked in Honda for eight years. In the latest episode Riding lightning Podcast, he said he jumped on Tesla because it combines his passion for cars and environmental impact.
Brandon Ehrhart, General Counsel and Company Secretary
Tesla appointed Ehrhart as general counsel and company secretary in 2023. He spent twenty years in the telecommunications industry, most notably at DISH Network, where he served as general counsel for DISH Wireless. His legal background also includes roles at Echostar Corporation and partners at DLA Piper.
At Tesla, Ehrhart leads a legal team that, according to past LinkedIn posts, aims to manage “all aspects of litigation and trial work, including briefings, hearings, discoveries, sedimentation, sedimentation and trials, entirely internally.”
Senior Design Director Franz von Holzhausen
Von Holzhausen brings decades of automotive design experience to Tesla. Prior to joining the company, he worked in high-profile projects such as Volkswagen New Beetle, and held design positions at General Motors and Mazda. He became Tesla’s senior design director in 2008 and has since led design work for every major model, including the Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck and second-generation sports cars.
Ashok Elliswamy, Vice President of AI Software
Elliswamy leads Tesla’s AI software division, a key area the company hopes to expand. He has led the team since October 2024, and according to his LinkedIn, he focuses on “get everything and everything you need for self-driving four-wheel drive.” His previous work includes developing Tesla’s internal computer vision system and applying AI to address complex autonomous driving challenges.
Elliswamy joined Tesla in 2014 and later described by Musk as the company’s first formally hiring AI and autopilot team. “With him and our excellent team, we will be another auto company looking for autonomous suppliers that do not exist,” Musk wrote on X last year.
Michael Snyder, Vice President of Energy and Fees
Snyder held a career as Tesla in 2014, when he was an employee electrical engineer and steadily rose among the company’s Department of Energy. He previously served as Senior Director of Production and Business at Megapack before being promoted to Vice President of Energy and Charging in 2024. In this role, he is responsible for Tesla’s integrated sustainable energy ecosystem, which includes solar, storage and charging infrastructure.
Prior to joining Tesla, Snyder worked for engineering and energy companies such as HDR, SunPower Corporation and Flack+Kurtz.
Laurie Shelby, Vice President of Health and Safety
Since 2017, Shelby has led Tesla’s Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) business, overseeing workplace safety and compliance for more than 100,000 employees in the automotive, energy and delivery sectors. She is one of Tesla’s top female executives, and she brings decades of industrial security experience. Prior to Tesla, she worked at Alcoa for 17 years and held key roles at Renault Metal, Radian Corporation and Dominion Virginia Power.
Karn Budhiraj and Roshan Thomas, Vice President of Supply Chain
Tesla’s massive and complex global supply chain is managed by two executives: Budhiraj and Thomas. Budhiraj joined Tesla in 2014, bringing previous experience with Apple’s supply chain team and gaining consulting background in Deloitte’s consulting background. Initially, he initially oversaw powertrain and electronics programs before he was promoted to vice president of supply chain in 2018. He now manages key areas such as battery, electronics, construction, manufacturing and distribution.
Thomas, who reported directly to Musk, was appointed vice president in 2020. He is responsible for vehicle and solar procurement and other key supply functions. Thomas joined Tesla in 2019 as purchasing manager for propulsion, heat and climate systems, after earlier roles in supply operations at Tellabs and Sanmina.
