Two more high profile departures from Tesla just ahead of robotaxi unveiling
Waymo has hired Tesla's former head of vehicle programs, responsible for product and program Management of all Tesla vehicles, just ahead of Tesla's Robotaxi unveiling.
Daniel Ho is an aerospace engineer who went into an automotive product planning career starting with a 12-year stint at Ford.
Electrek found a LinkedIn post that Ho shared last week in which he announced that he would be joining Waymo as Programs Director:
On his LinkedIn profile, Ho lists his job at Tesla as ending last month and joining Waymo right away.
Ho would be joining Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving vehicle company, just as Tesla is about to unveil its Robotaxi this week, a vehicle program Ho was working on.
In 2013, shortly after the launch of the Model S, Ho joined Tesla to lead the program. He oversaw the launch of the Model S Dual Motor, Autopilot 1.0 and P90 Ludicrous programs.
Ho then became Tesla's Model 3 program manager in 2014 during the early prototyping days of the program and led it all the way into Tesla's first high-volume production vehicle.
He was also added the responsibilities of the Model Y program in 2020 through 2022.
In 2022, Ho was promoted to Director of Vehicle Programs and New Vehicle Introductions, overseeing all program managers and reporting directly to CEO Elon Musk.
Electrek reported earlier that David Zhang, who was one of Ho's top program managers, also recently confirmed leaving Tesla. He has been behind vehicles like Model S and Model X, Cybertruck, and more.
David Zhang joined Tesla back in 2015 and was quickly promoted to lead full vehicle programs at Tesla.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he has been in charge of the Model S and Model X programs since 2018.
He was in charge of the Model Y program from 2020 to 2021, the critical period of its launch.
Zhang was also in charge of the Cybertruck program for a year between July 2021 to June 2022.
Finally, he also had a quick stint as the "Roadster and Next Generation Vehicle Program Manager" from February 2023 until earlier this year.
This weekend, Zhang announced that he is leaving Tesla.
Even though Zhang confirmed his departure from Tesla this weekend, he also updated his LinkedIn profile to show he hasn't been at Tesla since Jul.
Earlier this year, Tesla had a massive round of layoffs that included cuts in virtually every department. Between Apr and Jul, many people were let go, including engineering leaders, and others left on their own following a moral drop at the company.
Zhang's more recent departure comes as we also recently learned of Tesla's Chief Information Officer and one of its top European executives leaving the automaker last week.
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