Tesla’s CIO exits a week before robotaxi event

Just a week before the company’s highly anticipated robotaxi event, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is losing its chief information officer, Bloomberg reported.

Nagesh Saldi, who oversaw the development of Tesla’s (TSLA) data centers in Texas and New York and reported directly to CEO Elon Musk, is leaving the company.

Saldi has been with Tesla since 2012 when he joined the automaker as Vice President of Engineering and was promoted to CIO in 2018. His role with the company was expanded as the company increased research and development into artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. As part of this restructuring into AI and AD, nine executives – including Saldi — have left Tesla (TSLA) since the beginning of the year, including Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of supercharging, Daniel Ho, director of vehicle programs and new product introduction, and senior VP Dan Baglino.

Saldi’s exit comes at a time when Tesla (TSLA) needs a big win to offset lackluster sales data and a 10% drop in the share price over the last three days. With Google’s (GOOG) Waymo taking the lead on robotaxi advancement, Tesla (TSLA) needs to impress investors looking for a fresh revenue stream to offset sluggish EV momentum and stifle the stock’s retreat.