A Tesla logo at a dealership in Valencia, Spain. (Michael Robinson Chavez/Bloomberg)
A longtime Tesla Inc. executive is leaving the Elon Musk-run electric vehicle company, extending a string of departures as the manufacturer shifts its focus to artificial intelligence and robotics.
Sendil Palani, Tesla’s vice president of finance, said in a social media post that he would depart after 17 years with the company. He had been in that position since 2021, having previously held roles in finance, engineering and manufacturing during two stints at Tesla.
Palani is the latest high-profile executive to leave Tesla in recent years as the company works to deploy robotaxis in more cities and produce humanoid robots. Sales have declined for two consecutive years in Tesla’s core EV business amid sluggish demand in the U.S., growing competition and a consumer backlash to Musk’s work for the Trump administration.
Other executives who have left the company include longtime Musk confidante Omead Afshar; David Lau, Tesla’s vice president of software engineering; Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for the Optimus robot program; and Troy Jones, a North American sales executive, as well as his replacement Raj Jegannathan.
Thanks for an epic contribution over many years!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2026