[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s vice president of business development and one of its longest-serving employees, has left the company. O’Connell spent 11 years at Tesla – before the release of the Roadster through the production ramp of the Model 3.
O’Connells responsibilities will be taken over by Jon McNeil, Tesla’s President of Global Sales and Service.
Tesla has experienced several departures of key executives this year, including Kurt Kelty, director of battery technology; Chief Financial Officer Jason Wheeler and Chris Lattner, vice president of Autopilot software.
A Bloomberg report said O’Connell “felt the time was right to move on and spend more time with his family.”
“I’ve been privileged to be part of a team that sparked a revolution in global electromobility,” O’Connell said in a statement sent to Bloomberg. “There is no turning back on the road to a world of electric vehicles and sustainable energy generation and use.”
Tesla has not announced a replacement for O’Connell.
O’Connell spoke at TMC Connect 2014 on a range of topics, including Tesla’s early days and the fight with the auto dealership lobby for the right to sell cars directly to the customer. Check out the video below.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Luus-D8bt8U” video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]