Who Is Driving Tesla's Management Team?

Tesla Motors  (TSLA), headed by famed entrepreneur Elon Musk, is considered the predominant firm leading the development of electric vehicles, even though the company remains a distance from achieving mass-market sales volume. Musk and the rest of Tesla's executive management team continue pushing the company forward with moves such as its strategic joint venture with Panasonic Corporation (PCRFY) to become the overwhelmingly largest producer of lithium ion battery packs.

Although Tesla has yet to attain profitability, Musk and his team have had an up and down relationship with investors, as the company's stock has struggled to maintain its history of solid returns in 2018.

Elon Musk is the co-founder, chief executive officer (CEO), director and product architect, and unquestionably the primary driving force at Tesla Motors. Musk, a native of South Africa, is also the founder, CEO and chief technology officer (CTO) of SpaceX and the chairman of SolarCity following Tesla's 2016 acquisition of the key solar power firm. In acquiring SolarCity, Musk has stated his intention to create a large-scale integrated renewable energy firm that can become a major provider of both solar panels and the storage batteries needed to drive them.

Musk, who holds a bachelor's degree in physics earned at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in economics from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, is both an engineer and inventor. He is a trustee of the Musk Foundation, which actively promotes green technology and the development of renewable energy sources.

Musk's previous entrepreneurial success includes being one of the co-founders of the mega-successful payment-processing firm, PayPal (PYPL). Although Tesla has suffered setbacks, such as a crash of one its autopilot vehicle prototypes in May 2016, few doubt Musk's ability to deliver eventually on the promise that investors see in Tesla's future.

Jeffrey Brian Straubel, more commonly referred to as “JB,” is the chief technology officer of Tesla Motors, as well as a member of the company’s founding team. In his role at Tesla, Straubel oversees all of the technical and engineering designs for all of Tesla’s vehicles. He is also responsible for overseeing research and development (R&D), evaluating new technology and designs, due diligence with key vendors, and validating systems testing, among other responsibilities.

Straubel recently spoke at the International Transport Forum in Germany, indicating that he and his team are working on substantial breakthroughs in the batteries for Tesla’s electric cars. He further indicated that important momentum was developing behind the designs for, and production of, a line of fully autonomous vehicles that could potentially transform the transportation industry, noting that such vehicles are inevitable and foreseeable in a matter of years, not decades.

Straubel is also a regular lecturer and guest presenter at Stanford University, his alma mater, where he teaches an energy storage integration class as part of the school's atmosphere and energy program.

Deepak was hired as Tesla’s chief financial officer (CFO) in February 2017, after previously holding the role from 2008 to 2015. 

Deepak brings invaluable insight of a well-versed industry veteran to help Tesla become a leading automobile company in the world. He brings more than 20 years of global automotive financial experience to the role.