Cybertruck Vehicle Program Manager (Siddhant Awasthi) leaves Tesla

[YDR37]

If you have an interest in Cybertrucks, you may recognize the name of Siddhant Awasthi. He was the Cybertruck Vehicle Program Manager at Tesla, and his name has come up periodically in posts on this forum, like this one for example:

... I recommend you reach out to Siddhant Awasthi on X and let him know what you think about it like I did. He is the Cybertruck Product Manager and has taken responsibility for the wheel cover deliveries in postings on X. His X handle is ...

Anyway, he announced today that he is leaving Tesla, after eight years. So there is no longer any point in reaching out to him about Cybertruck issues or concerns.

No idea why he might have left Tesla, or where he might be headed instead, or who might replace him. Will keep an eye out for possible updates.

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[Griswold]

Can this forum collectively apply for his position? Sans advertising accounts. No pay needed. We'll keep the program running better than ever, just need an inside line to Tesla.

 

[Black306]

Can this forum collectively apply for his position? Sans advertising accounts. No pay needed. We'll keep the program running better than ever, just need an inside line to Tesla.

 

[Jesseg9163]

I’ve never lost any of the stock ones. Mine are pretty stuck in there.

 

[YDR37]

Will keep an eye out for possible updates.

Further info of potential interest:

- Siddhant Awasthi was primarily known as the Cybertruck Vehicle Program Manager, but he was also designated as the Model 3 Vehicle Program Manager earlier this year.

- The Model Y Vehicle Program Manager, Emmanuel Lamacchia, announced his departure from Tesla on the same day that Awasthi did.

So there could now be openings for Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck Vehicle Program Managers. Obviously this is pure speculation, but given that Tesla is transitioning to fully autonomous vehicles, maybe it's become less interesting to manage their legacy non-autonomous vehicle programs.

I had just assumed that the info in the original post would only be of interest to hard-core Cybertruck fans. However, the multiple turnovers seem to have caught the attention of the general news media.

 

[Setok]

I think you’d be hard pushed to consider this as anything but negative. Tesla has lost all their vehicle programme managers. There seems to be very little activity around developing their core vehicles, not to mention new vehicles. Elon’s pet stuff now is Cybercab (personally I have almost no interest in that and will likely be quite limited for some time), AI and robotics, which are unlikely to deliver rapid dividends.

All this after they dropped their affordable car programme (to be replaced with just some rapidly thought out Model Y edition). It just seems like cars are no longer a priority for the electric car company

 

[Reasy]

In the largest automotive markets, some sources are suggesting that that the new vehicle market may have reached its average sales peak. Therefore, the lower end vehicle market could be supported with previous owned Teslas and the Robotaxi. This could be why Tesla may not offer a 30K vehicle at this time.

 

[Crissa]

In the largest automotive markets, some sources are suggesting that that the new vehicle market may have reached its average sales peak. Therefore, the lower end vehicle market could be supported with previous owned Teslas and the Robotaxi. This could be why Tesla may not offer a 30K vehicle at this time.

With Tesla's sales going in the opposite direction of the rest of the market...?

Sales of <30K vehicles isn't dropping, availability is.

-Crissa

 

[Setok]

In the largest automotive markets, some sources are suggesting that that the new vehicle market may have reached its average sales peak. Therefore, the lower end vehicle market could be supported with previous owned Teslas and the Robotaxi. This could be why Tesla may not offer a 30K vehicle at this time.

I’m not exactly sure what you are trying to say, but one of the biggest hit cars in Europe right now is the Renault 5, with a starting price less than 30K. It is a great, fun car, which looks super and great to drive. At a great price. Hell, I want one!

 

[YDR37]

I’m not exactly sure what you are trying to say, but one of the biggest hit cars in Europe right now is the Renault 5, with a starting price less than 30K.

Tesla may have missed a significant opportunity to sell small EVs in the European and Asian markets.

Some Americans would regard the Tesla Model 3 as a small car. By European and Asian standards, it's not. For example, the Renault 5 is 31.4 inches -- more than 2.5 feet -- shorter than a Model 3 (for non-Americans, the difference is 798 mm).

There are multiple reasons why the Cybertruck will never be more than an exotic niche vehicle in Europe and Asia. But one reason is that those markets have been waiting for Tesla to offer an EV that was a few feet shorter than a Model 3 -- not an EV that was a few feet longer than a Model X.

 

[YDR37]

If you have an interest in Cybertrucks, you may recognize the name of Siddhant Awasthi. He was the Cybertruck Vehicle Program Manager at Tesla ... he announced today that he is leaving Tesla, after eight years. So there is no longer any point in reaching out to him about Cybertruck issues or concerns.

No idea why he might have left Tesla, or where he might be headed instead, or who might replace him. Will keep an eye out for possible updates.

Update: Siddhant Awasthi is now with Zipline. Zipline offers express deliveries of small packages, especially medical supplies, using autonomous (Level 4) aerial drones. Apparently most of their operations have been in rural Africa, where drone delivery can be much faster than conventional alternatives and where there is minimal red tape. But they are testing in the US well, including deliveries of Chipotle burritos.

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