Tesla’s longtime powertrain chief Drew Baglino announced he’s leaving the company after an 18-year run. Yeah, you read that right: one of Tesla’s biggest veteran lifers is punching out.
Drew Baglino, who most served as SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, revealed the difficult decision to exit stage left in a X post thread dripping with nostalgia. “I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years,” he wrote.
The engineering lifer joined Tesla’s ranks way back in 2006 when it was just a pipsqueak startup. Back then, the prospect of Tesla becoming a world-beating automaker – let alone the bestselling EV maker on the planet – seemed like a pipe dream to Baglino.
Drew Baglino clearly relished his lengthy stint, describing the many knotty engineering challenges he and his team “loved tackling” as they helped propel the company’s world-changing sustainable mission.
“I feel gratified to have contributed to the mission of accelerating the transition to sustainable energy, a mission that I am quite passionate about,” Baglino.
His heartfelt sign-off says it all: “I will always have a warm spot for the people of Tesla and Tesla products in my heart and wish the team and company the best in the future.”
Drew Baglino: “Looking forward I have no concrete plans beyond spending more time with my family and young kids. But, as people who know me well can attest, I have difficulty sitting still for long…”
Tesla’s loss is…hopefully another automaker’s gain? Either way, Baglino’s deep expertise and institutional knowledge of the EV pioneer will be sorely missed.