Tesla has reportedly experienced another high profile defection from its executive suite as Elon Musk’s troubled high-tech car company continues to deal with morale and turnover issues.
German business weekly WirtschaftsWoche reported that manufacturing Vice President Bert Bruggeman is leaving after one year with the electric car company. Bruggeman’s LinkedIn account states that he joined the company in October 2018 and was based in Tesla’s Fremont, California, manufacturing center.
The report, which cited anonymous sources, said that Bruggeman’s departure has come as a surprise to those within the company, and that Tesla hasn’t yet found a replacement.
Bruggeman, who hails from Belgium, was in the news last week when one of his emails was leaked showing that Tesla was having trouble finding people to deliver cars for the remainder of the year.
Business Insider reported that Tesla’s delivery department was “facing a significant shortage of volunteers” for the final weeks of the year.
Bruggeman reportedly sent the email, which included a link to a form where employees could sign up to help deliver vehicles. “If you are able to help, please sign up,” the email said.
Tesla has seen a slew of high-ranking personnel head for the exit doors in recent months.
The company’s chief financial officer stepped down earlier this year. More recently, Tesla lost its Vice President of production to a competitor and its VP of engineering in quick succession.
Tesla announced earlier this month that General Counsel Jonathan Cheng will be leaving the company. Cheng is the third Tesla general counsel to leave the company in 2019 alone.
Musk recently took the stand in court in a defamation case brought by a British cave explorer whom Musk had called “pedo guy” on Twitter. The jury ultimately ruled in favor of Musk, throwing out the $190 million suit.
Musk’s often unpredictable behavior on social media and the real world has impacted Tesla.
Earlier this year, he reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allowed him to keep tweeting so long as his tweets don’t touch on certain financial aspects of the company.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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