Two of Tesla’s senior manufacturing engineers have left the company.
Jason Mendez, senior director for manufacturing engineering, and Will McColl, senior manager for equipment engineering, both left the company in recent weeks. The moves were first reported by Jalopnik.
Mendez and McColl were reportedly closely involved with manufacturing the Model 3, which has suffered frustrating delays for Tesla and its customers.
Mendez is a 12-year veteran of the company, while McColl was at Tesla for more than three years.
In a post on LinkedIn, McColl said:
It was an action-packed 7 years of automation equipment design and I will truly miss the team. I will treasure our countless moments of laughter as we fearlessly dismantled the edifice of “impossible!”. I’m continually inspired by my colleagues’ resolve, and I wish them strength as they ramp and refine Model 3. It’s an amazing car!
As for me, I’m preparing for the next venture and challenge. I’ve got many complexities to unravel in the move back from Germany, but I’m very excited to return to the US in the coming months. Stay tuned!
Given Telsa’s focus on scaling manufacturing of the Model 3, it’s curious to see two senior members of the team exit at such an important time. It’s not immediately clear what led to the departures.