Another high-level Tesla official has left the electric automaker, amid struggles to meet production goals and negative publicity surrounding founder Elon Musk.
Sept. 7 (UPI) — Another high-level Tesla official has left the electric automaker, amid struggles to meet production goals and negative publicity surrounding founder Elon Musk .
Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton said he resigned because the level of public attention on Tesla, as well as the pace within the company, was greater than he expected, according to a company filing .
« This caused me to reconsider my future, » Morton said. « I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting. »
Gaby Toledano, Tesla’s chief human resources officer, has also announced she would not return from a leave of absence she took in August, Bloomberg reported .
Shares of Tesla fell Friday morning.
News of the departures Friday came amid new attention to Musk, who drew criticism for appearing to smoke marijuana during a podcast with host Joe Rogan Thursday night.
Rogan offered him what he called « marijuana inside of tobacco, » and joked that shareholders wouldn’t approve. He and Musk discussed pot being legal in California.
Musk caused other controversy this summer for remarks to news media and for revealing plans to take the company public. The plan was later abandoned.
The Securities and Exchange Commission will continue its investigation to see whether Musk attempted to manipulate Tesla’s stock price with his tweet.
