Courtesy of Benzinga.
Shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) were trading lower by more than 4 percent Wednesday afternoon following reports that two senior executives will leave the company.
Bloomberg reported that Tesla’s vice president of production Greg Reichow and vice president of manufacturing Josh Ensign will leave the company. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed both departures and said Reichow will remain until his replacement is found.
“After being at Tesla for over five years and leading its Production team for the past three years, Greg Reichow has announced his intention to take a leave of absence from Tesla so that he can have a well-earned break. To ensure a smooth handoff and provide continuity, Greg will remain at Tesla as long as necessary until his successor is on board. He will work closely with the Tesla leadership team to help with the search process and ultimately to make an effective transition to his successor. Tesla is currently identifying the best candidate to lead Production into the launch of Model 3,” the spokesperson said.
“From Elon: ‘Greg and the team deserve a lot of credit for building an all-new manufacturing organization from the ground up and for making Model S and Model X a reality. We’re confident that with the strength of the team, high-quality manufacturing at Tesla will continue,'” relayed the spokesperson.
“From Greg: ‘The Tesla team is an incredibly talented and committed group. Leading the team that brought Model S and Model X into volume production is something I’ll always be extremely proud of. My belief in Tesla’s ability to successfully deliver great cars and inspire the world to drive electric remains as strong as ever.'”
The announcement comes hours before Tesla is scheduled to report its first quarter results which are scheduled to be released after Wednesday’s market close.
Shares traded recently at $222.76, down 4.1 percent.
Editor’s Note 5/4/2016, 1334 ET: Statement attributable to Tesla spokesperson via email to Benzinga added.
Posted-In: Greg Reichow Josh Ensign Tesla Tesla ManagementNews Management
