Troy Jones, Tesla’s head of sales for North America, has reportedly exited the electric vehicle manufacturer, marking another high-level departure as the company contends with declining demand and internal restructuring.
Jones, who had been with Tesla for 15 years and led U.S. sales operations for the past five years, is said to have left the company recently, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. It remains unclear whether the departure was voluntary or the result of internal decisions. As of this week, Jones still lists his Tesla position on LinkedIn.
The leadership change follows the dismissal of Omead Afshar, who had been overseeing Tesla’s operations in both North America and Europe. The company appears to be reconfiguring its sales leadership as it addresses falling demand, particularly in Europe, where deliveries reportedly declined by 45% since the start of 2024. Modest signs of recovery have been noted since May.
Industry analysts point to several contributing factors, including the aging vehicle lineup, intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers, and the political affiliations of CEO Elon Musk, which some believe may have impacted public perception.
Tesla has experienced frequent turnover in senior roles. The company parted ways with long-serving CFO Zach Kirkhorn in mid-2023, and earlier this year disbanded the Supercharger team led by Rebecca Tinucci, who has since joined Uber. Jenna Ferrua, head of human resources for North America, also left recently.
Tesla does not regularly comment on internal personnel changes. Publicly, the company is now represented by just three key executives: CEO Elon Musk, CFO Vaibhav Taneja, and Tom Zhu, Senior Vice President of Automotive. Zhu reportedly returned to China in early 2024 and continues his role from there, while Musk is now said to have assumed direct oversight of Tesla’s sales operations across North America and Europe.
