Tesla Loses Model Y And Cybertruck Program Managers On Same Day, Completing Vehicle Leadership Exodus

Tesla lost two of its most critical vehicle program managers on the same day, with Model Y chief Emmanuel Lamacchia and Cybertruck lead Siddhant Awasthi both announcing their departures Sunday. The double exit marks the final collapse of Tesla’s vehicle program leadership structure—a team that once successfully launched the world’s best-selling car and the company’s most controversial pickup truck.

Lamacchia spent nearly eight years at Tesla and led the Model Y program for over four years, overseeing production and international rollout across multiple factories. Awasthi started as an intern eight years ago and rose to lead both the Cybertruck program and, more recently, the Model 3 program. Both executives announced their departures via LinkedIn within hours of each other, with neither revealing their next career moves.

Complete Leadership Wipeout In 12 Months

The simultaneous departures aren’t isolated incidents—they represent the final pieces falling from Tesla’s vehicle program leadership puzzle. Over the past year, Tesla has systematically lost every senior vehicle program manager who built its current lineup.

Daniel Ho, who headed all vehicle programs at Tesla and is credited with successfully launching the Model 3, was let go during Tesla’s massive layoffs in 2024 and joined rival Waymo shortly after. David Zhang, Tesla’s second-most senior vehicle program manager, also departed in 2024 after leading Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck programs at various points since 2018.

With Lamacchia and Awasthi now gone, Tesla’s entire vehicle program leadership team has been wiped out in just 12 months—an unprecedented exodus for a company still selling over 1.2 million vehicles annually.

Record Quarter Masks Deeper Challenges

The timing couldn’t be more precarious. Tesla just reported its best quarter ever in Q3 2025, delivering 497,099 vehicles—but that success came with a massive asterisk. The record numbers were driven by customers rushing to secure the $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired September 30, 2025.

Now, with that incentive gone and the leaders who shepherded these vehicles from concept to production out the door, Tesla faces its first full quarter without either safety net. Analysts widely expect a sharp delivery slump in Q4 2025 as the artificial demand boost evaporates.

Lamacchia reflected on his tenure in his LinkedIn announcement, writing “What a journey it’s been… from leading NPI (new product introduction) for Model 3 and Model Y variants to becoming the Vehicle Program Manager for Model Y, the best-selling car in the world!”

He highlighted leading the All-New Model Y launch as his career pinnacle, noting the team “converted all 4 factories across 3 continents in just 2 weeks. Something that had never been done before in the auto industry.”

From Intern To Cybertruck Chief To Exit

Awasthi’s trajectory epitomizes Tesla’s promotion-from-within strategy. Starting as an intern in 2017, he rose to lead the Cybertruck program—one of Tesla’s most technically challenging and commercially divisive projects—before his 30th birthday.

“Eight years ago, when I started as an intern, I never dreamed I’d one day have the opportunity to lead the Cybertruck program and bring it to reality,” Awasthi wrote in his departure announcement.

The Cybertruck, first unveiled in 2019, finally entered production in late 2023 but has faced multiple recalls and struggled to gain broad market traction beyond its enthusiast base.

Awasthi also took over the Model 3 program in July 2024, adding Tesla’s original mass-market vehicle to his responsibilities alongside the troubled pickup truck. His departure leaves both programs without their established leader.

Broader Executive Exodus Continues

The vehicle program collapses fit a broader pattern of high-profile departures. As EVXL previously reported, Tesla’s VP of sales, service, and delivery in North America, Troy Jones, left in July 2025 after 15 years. Omead Afshar, VP of sales and manufacturing for North America and Europe and a close Musk confidant, departed in June 2025.

Battery technology director Vineet Mehta left in May 2025 after 18 years, along with Tesla India chief Prashanth Menon. In April 2024, chief battery engineer Drew Baglino, supercharging division head Rebecca Tinucci, and global public policy chief Rohan Patel all exited.

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the departures. Company shares fell more than 1% following initial reports.

EVXL’s Take

Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: Tesla is systematically dismantling the team that built its successful vehicle business while betting everything on robotaxis and humanoid robots. Every single senior vehicle program manager who made the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck a reality is now gone.

This isn’t normal corporate turnover—this is a strategic pivot executed through attrition and layoffs. CEO Elon Musk has made his priorities abundantly clear: Tesla’s future is Full Self-Driving, robotaxis, and Optimus robots. The vehicle business? That’s apparently on autopilot now, literally and figuratively.

The timing exposes the vulnerability of this strategy. As we covered extensively, Tesla’s Q3 deliveries were artificially inflated by the tax credit deadline. Strip away that $7,500 incentive and the desperate rush it created, and Tesla faces its first real test of organic demand in the post-subsidy era—with no experienced vehicle program leadership to navigate the turbulence.

Remember, these weren’t just managers shuffling papers. Lamacchia orchestrated a simultaneous four-factory global launch in two weeks. Awasthi took the Cybertruck from engineering concept to production. Zhang and Ho built the foundation for every major Tesla vehicle. That institutional knowledge and execution capability doesn’t get replaced by LinkedIn posts wishing them well.

The contrast with competitors couldn’t be starker. While Tesla loses its vehicle brain trust, Chinese manufacturers like BYD continue engineering circles around Western automakers with experienced leadership teams intact. BYD has already overtaken Tesla in Europe, offering superior technology at lower prices with none of the executive chaos.

Tesla shareholders voted to give Musk a $1 trillion compensation package while the company systematically loses the people who actually built the products generating that value. The cognitive dissonance is staggering. Wall Street cheers robotaxi promises while the team that delivers half a million vehicles per quarter walks out the door.

What happens when the promised robotaxi timeline slips (again), FSD development hits roadblocks (again), and Tesla needs to actually, you know, build and sell cars to maintain cash flow? Who’s steering those programs now?

The departure announcements both expressed confidence in Tesla’s future and excitement for their next chapters. Translation: they’re taking their talents to companies that still value vehicle engineering expertise. Smart money says we’ll see these names at Waymo, Rivian, or Chinese EV makers within months.

For Tesla owners and EV enthusiasts, this should be concerning. Vehicle quality, production efficiency, and model launches don’t happen by accident—they require experienced leadership and institutional knowledge. Tesla just lost four layers of that in twelve months, right as the post-subsidy market reality hits.

Maybe Tesla’s AI and robotics bet pays off. Maybe autonomous vehicles really do matter more than the actual vehicles carrying the technology. But executing that transition by hollowing out your core competency while competitors catch up? That’s not strategy—that’s hubris.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below.