Another long-time Tesla executive is leaving the company. Sendil Palani, Tesla’s Vice President of Finance, announced on Monday that he is stepping down after nearly two decades with the automaker, the latest in a series of high-profile departures over the past few years.
Palani shared the news in a lengthy post reflecting on his time at Tesla, describing the experience as one of the most rewarding chapters of his career.
“After seventeen incredible years, my latest chapter at Tesla has come to a close,” Palani wrote. “Words won’t do justice to how fulfilling the experience has been, but I’ll try anyway.”
Palani joined Tesla in late 2008, during one of the most difficult periods in the company’s history. At the time, Tesla was struggling financially as it attempted to ramp production of the original Roadster, and the company’s survival was far from certain.
“Tesla barely survived Christmas 2008,” Palani wrote. “I started a few days later in our Finance team, under an ongoing ‘Tesla Deathwatch’. I slept under my desk in San Carlos, CA at least once, and I wasn’t the only one.”
Over the next 17 years, Palani witnessed Tesla transform from a small Silicon Valley startup into one of the world’s most valuable automakers and a leader in electric vehicles (EVs). According to his LinkedIn profile, Palani held numerous finance and operational roles across the company during his 17-year tenure, including overseeing engineering and manufacturing finance, corporate planning, and major program management initiatives.
In March 2021, he was promoted to Vice President of Finance, a role he held until his departure.
In his note, Palani also thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his leadership and long-term vision. “A heartfelt thanks for your endless love of humanity, and for demonstrating the power of thinking from first principles at all times, about all things,” he wrote.
Palani’s exit is the latest in a series of leadership changes at Tesla over the past few years. Most recently Victor Nechita, Program Manager for Cybercab, left the company last month, one day after the first Cybercab was produced. Other notable departures in the past 12 months include:
- David Lau – Vice President of Software Engineering — April 2025
- Omead Afshar – Vice President of Sales & Manufacturing (North America & Europe) — June 2025
- Milan Kovac – Vice President Optimus — June 2025
- Troy Jones – Vice President of Sales, Service & Delivery (North America) — July 2025
- Pete Bannon – Vice President of Hardware Engineering (Dojo supercomputer team) — August 2025
- Siddhant Awasthi – Program Manager for Cybertruck (and Model 3) — November 2025
- Emmanuel Lamacchia – Program Manager for Model Y — November 2025
- Raj Jegannathan – Vice President (IT, AI Infrastructure & Information Security; briefly led North American sales after Troy Jones) — February 2026
- Victor Nechita – Program Manager for Cybercab/Robotaxi – February 2026
Here is Palani’s full note announcing his departure.
After seventeen incredible years, my latest chapter at Tesla has come to a close. Words won’t do justice to how fulfilling the experience has been, but I’ll try anyway:
— Sendil Palani (@sendilpalani) March 9, 2026
Tesla barely survived Christmas 2008. I started a few days later in our Finance team, under an ongoing “Tesla…
