Musk fires key Tesla exec as sales plunge

Elon Musk has reportedly fired Tesla’s head of operations in North America and Europe, Omead Afshar, as the company’s sales take a hit in both regions.

Afshar’s departure comes just days before the close of the second quarter. Reports reveal that Tesla’s EV sales in Europe declined for a fifth consecutive month.

Equity analysts expect a decline in Tesla’s EV deliveries of at least 10% worldwide in the quarter that ends on June 30th, to about 392,800 units compared with 443,956 a year ago, according to Forbes. Tesla’s stock price is also down 19% this year.

Afshar joined Tesla as an engineer in 2017 and was promoted to vice president to oversee business in the two key regions last October. He reported directly to Musk and was considered one of the company’s top execs, leading a team of more than half a dozen high-level employees, according to CNBC.

The company has been dealing with reputational damage amid Musk’s political activity. First, his demonstrative financial support for Donald Trump, and then a major falling out, which meant that Trump could further cut contracts with Tesla and SpaceX, on top of the already declining sales.

Instead of focusing on new electric models to boost sales, Musk has seemingly decided to tap into Tesla’s robotaxi service and artificial intelligence (AI). Earlier this week, Tesla completed the first fully autonomous delivery of a Tesla Model Y from the factory to a customer's home.

However, electric cars, batteries, and charging services still account for the majority of Tesla’s revenue.