Tesla Fires Its VP of US and European Sales After Just 9 Months

Omead Afshar, Tesla’s head of U.S. and European manufacturing and sales, has left the company, multiple outlets reported Thursday. While nobody from Tesla has yet publicly commented on the separation, sources told Forbes that the executive and long-time Elon Musk confidant was fired outright.

Afshar was promoted to vice president in October, 2024, and was tasked with overseeing the company’s European and American sales and manufacturing operations amidst a steady drop-off in deliveries—a trend that continued through the end of 2024 and into this year. As America’s biggest EV manufacturer, Tesla’s slump has dragged down overall EV sales, even as some buyers look to mainstream automakers for alternatives.

Maybe it’s down to political fallout, or maybe it’s just the economy, but either way, Afshar has thus far been unable to right the ship. His posts on Musk’s X.com platform suggest that he and the CEO had a particularly close relationship. He has not yet posted about his alleged termination.

I was with Elon nearly every single day during Model 3 hell. This included Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, his birthday and nearly missing his brother’s wedding. He left the factory to fly straight there, barely making it as he was helping resolve production challenges… https://t.co/phdiVK13wd pic.twitter.com/cFfP4kNLnh

Musk has allegedly stepped back into a more active role at Tesla since parting ways with the Trump administration and his position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). With confidence in Musk’s leadership at the company in question, this move may be intended to signal that nobody’s job is safe, even those of Musk’s closest friends.

It could also be a signal that Tesla’s next quarterly sales report will offer more bad news. With Q2 rapidly coming to a close, it’s only a matter of time before we find out for certain.

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Byron is a contributing writer and auto reviewer with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.