Tesla’s director of battery technology has left the company, according to a report from Bloomberg.
“We can confirm that Kurt Kelty has left the company to explore new opportunities and we want to thank him for everything he’s done for Tesla,” the company said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.
His responsibilities will be “distributed among Tesla’s existing teams,” according to the report.
Kelty joined Tesla in 2006 after more than 14 years at Panasonic Corp., Tesla’s partner on the battery gigafactory near Reno, Nevada. Given his success at Tesla and deep experience with battery technology, Kelty is likely a hot prospect for automakers hoping to get more serious about electric vehicles.
Kelty has not announced his future plans, but his departure comes as Tesla moves into what CEO Elon Musk called “production hell” to meet demand for the Model 3.