I resigned from Tesla after nearly 8 years. I lost confidence in Elon Musk’s vision for the company

At that point, I had very low confidence in the direction that Musk was taking the company

I’d been starting to feel like his personal mission for Tesla and the stated company mission were not the same thing anymore. It didn’t seem like he wanted to grow an automotive business anymore. It seemed like he wanted to use it as an incubator for new technologies, like AI, and his other tech companies.

Early in Tesla’s history, it was known for its innovation. It made sense to come out with products that were unexpected. It was a different way of imagining things and creating a better product without 100 years of design bloat, but I think it’s gotten to the point where it feels forced. For example, the Model S and Model X steering yoke. It seemed like the point wasn’t to design something better. It was just a gimmick.

The company has also ignored traditional automaker strategies in a way that, I think, has been detrimental to the brand. The 2021 Model S and Model X refreshes were designed to make them look the same as the old models. They didn’t want to cater to an industry that has these refreshes. The statement was: “No, you’re going to like the classic design forever.”

I don’t know when the tipping point was, but it turned from this fresh and innovative strategy to Tesla trying to convince customers this is what they actually want and I don’t know that it reflects consumer interests anymore.

My decision to leave Tesla came down to a lot of different factors that had been slowly creeping up on me for a couple of years. If I’d had a better commute and a job that I liked, I might have been able to shrug it all off and tell myself: “No matter what crazy stuff is Musk doing now, I’m just going to put my head down and keep working.” But with the layoffs, it all came to a head at once: I wasn’t happy with what I was doing anymore and I didn’t feel like I had faith in Musk’s plans for the company.

Choosing to leave was really difficult. I put my whole life into that job — I moved three times and worked at five locations, supporting 35 sites.

It felt like a divorce, but I think I made the right choice. I’ve moved on now and my spouse and I have decided to start our own company.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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