Electric vehicles
10 Tesla executives
These ten current and former Tesla executives and vice presidents include a former CFO, two former chief information officers, a former chief people officer and leaders of sales and service, powertrain and energy, software, finance, supply chain and AI software. Readers can learn how Tesla's leaders approach finance, IT, people operations, engineering and supplier management.
Professionals to explore
01—10Ashok Elluswamy
LinkedInExperience: Vice President - AI Software · Tesla
Vice President - AI Software at Tesla since October 2024 (current), with a headline of VP - Autopilot / AI Software at Tesla. At Tesla he also held Director - Autopilot Software (2019–2024), Senior Staff Software Engineer - Autopilot (2017–2019), Senior Software Engineer - Autopilot (2016–2017) and Software Engineer - Autopilot (2014–2016).
Chris Winton
LinkedInExperience: Chief People Officer · Tesla
Former Chief People Officer at Tesla (November 2022–June 2023), where his profile says he led all human capital management functions for Tesla's 125K+ global workforce and managed talent operations across engineering, manufacturing and corporate functions. He has been SVP Human Resources at Comcast since 2024.
David Lau
LinkedInExperience: VP Software Engineering · Tesla
Former VP Software Engineering at Tesla (2017–2025); his headline describes him as previously head of software at Tesla. His Tesla rows also include Senior Director of Firmware, Platforms, and Diagnostics (2015–2017) and Director, Firmware Engineering and System Integration (2014–2015), and he has been VP Engineering at OpenAI since 2025.
Drew Baglino
LinkedInExperience: SVP, Powertrain and Energy · Tesla
Former SVP, Powertrain and Energy at Tesla (2019–2024). At Tesla he also held VP of Technology (2016–2019), Director of Engineering, Tesla Energy (2014–2016) and Director, Powertrain Systems Architecture, Modeling, and Controls (2013–2016), and he has been Founder and CEO of Heron Power since 2024.
Jay Vijayan
LinkedInExperience: Chief Information Officer (CIO) · Tesla
Former Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Tesla (2012–2016); he also held Vice President, IT & Business Applications at Tesla in 2012. He has been Founder and CEO of Tekion Corp since 2016, which his summary describes as a technology company building cloud business applications focused on the automotive industry.
Jon McNeill
LinkedInExperience: President, Global Sales & Service · Tesla
Former President, Global Sales & Service at Tesla (2015–2018). He was also Chief Operating Officer at Lyft (2018–2019) and CEO of Enservio (2006–2015), and he is Partner and Co-Founder of DVx Ventures (since 2020) and Co-Founder of VistaShares (since 2022).
Nagesh Saldi
LinkedInExperience: Chief Information Officer · Tesla
Former Chief Information Officer at Tesla (2018–2024); his summary describes leading Tesla's global IT and digital operations. His current roles include Investor & Strategic Advisor at a family office (since 2024), Board Member at NOVA (since 2025) and Strategic Advisor to the United States Department of War (since 2026).
Roshan Thomas
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Supply Chain · Tesla
Vice President Supply Chain at Tesla since 2020 (current), following VP, Global Supply Management (2018–2020) and Director, Global Supply Management & Supplier Industrialization (2016–2018) there. His Tesla rows also include Sr. Group Manager, Global Supply Management- Powertrain, ADAS, Vehicle Electrics & Infotainment (2015–2016) and Sr. Manager, Powertrain Purchasing (2012–2015).
Sendil Palani
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Finance · Tesla
Former Vice President, Finance at Tesla (March 2021–March 2026), a role in the Finance & Accounting department in Palo Alto. At Tesla he also held Sr. Director, Finance (2018–2021), Director, Engineering Finance (2016–2018) and Senior Finance Manager (2015–2016), and he has been Chief Financial Officer at Zipline since July 2026.
Zach Kirkhorn
LinkedInExperience: CFO · Tesla
Former CFO at Tesla (March 2019–August 2023), a C-level role in the Finance & Accounting department based in Palo Alto. At Tesla he also held Vice President - Finance (2018–2019), Senior Director - Finance (2017–2018) and Director - Finance (2014–2017), and he has been Founder of 1417 Capital since 2024.
Choose the right perspective
Match the leader's function to your question, since a finance chief, an IT chief and a supply chain executive see different parts of the company's decisions. Check each role's dates so you know whether the person's Tesla experience is current or from an earlier period.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does Tesla's finance team plan capital spending across vehicle, energy and AI programs?
- 02What does Tesla's supply chain organization look for when it qualifies a new supplier?
- 03How has Tesla organized its software and IT teams to support rapid product and factory changes?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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