Tesla's Vice President of Finance, Sendil Palani, is set to depart after 17 years with the company, adding another name to the list of executives leaving as Elon Musk steers the firm further away from automobiles and toward autonomous driving and robotics.
Palani was one of the last pre-IPO era leaders still in a senior role at Tesla. His exit intensifies the talent drain witnessed across nearly all key business areas over the past two years.
Tesla is urging investors to prioritize its advancements in self-driving technology over conventional vehicle delivery metrics. This strategic shift comes as its Chinese rival BYD sees rapidly growing sales in Europe, while Tesla's own sales figures remain inconsistent.
Palani joined Tesla's finance team in January 2009, just days after the company narrowly avoided bankruptcy around Christmas 2008. At that time, Tesla had only about 300 employees, produced one car per day, and had cash reserves sufficient for approximately four weeks.
Having served as Vice President of Finance since 2021, Palani posted on X on Tuesday announcing the conclusion of his "incredible seventeen years" at the company. He recalled joining during what was referred to as "Tesla death watch" and praised Elon Musk for "demonstrating the power of thinking from first principles at all times, about everything." He also described his finance team as "heroes in a company full of heroes."
Musk responded, thanking Palani for his "epic contributions" to Tesla over the years.
Palani did not specify a reason for his departure, but it follows a noticeable pattern of senior leadership exits. Since mid-2024, Tesla has lost top executives responsible for nearly all core business functions.
The list is striking. Drew Baglino, who had 18 years of experience in powertrain and energy engineering, left in April 2024. Software chief David Lau departed in 2025. Tesla replaced four global sales heads in less than two years, including Omead Afshar, who was dismissed in June 2025.
The pace accelerated in 2026. Another manufacturing director left in January. Tesla replaced another North American sales head in February. Cybercab project manager Victor Nechita resigned just days after the first production unit was completed. This week, Thomas Dmytryk, head of OTA and Robotaxi infrastructure, departed after 11 years with the company.