Tesla's VP of Finance Announces Exit After 17 Years

Tesla is parting with one of its longest-serving leaders as it undertakes a significant shift in its core business. Sendil Palani, the company’s Vice President of Finance, announced he is leaving after 17 years, a period that overlapped with Tesla’s rise from a precarious startup to a global powerhouse.

In a farewell message shared on X, Palani looked back on beginnings when the company’s survival was far from certain. His departure closes a chapter approaching two decades marked by rapid innovation and complex financial operations.

Seventeen Years on the "Tesla Deathwatch"

Palani joined Tesla’s finance team in early 2009, just days after the company "barely survived Christmas 2008". He described that period as an ongoing "Tesla Deathwatch". The early years demanded extreme grit; he recalled sleeping under his desk in San Carlos, California, noting he was not the only employee to do so.

Over time, he said his role extended beyond conventional accounting, exposing him to the "physics of a brake rotor" and the "training of a neural network". He praised his finance organization as "heroes within a company full of heroics," responsible for everything from hardware and software sales to handling complex digital assets. His tenure encompassed the launch of every major Tesla vehicle and the large-scale expansion of the company’s global manufacturing.

A Message to Elon Musk and the Team

In his note, Palani expressed gratitude to colleagues and CEO Elon Musk, thanking Musk for "demonstrating the power of thinking from first principles at all times, about all things". He also urged those outside the company to "seek the truth about the company at all times" rather than rely on simplified narratives.

He framed his farewell as a defense of the company’s culture, saying the commitment and collaboration within the team were the "obvious predictor" of the successes that followed the lean early years.

An Uptick in High-Profile Departures

His exit adds to a recent wave of veteran departures. Just last month, Raj Jegannathan, who was leading North American sales, left after 13 years. That followed the departure of sales leader Troy Jones in July 2025, underscoring continued management turnover.

More recently, Victor Nechita, the Cybercab Vehicle Program Manager, left just months before mass production is slated to begin. Even more recently, Thomas Dmytryk, a director instrumental in building Tesla’s over-the-air (OTA) software update infrastructure and Robotaxi platform, exited after 11 years.

This leadership churn comes as Tesla pivots from a traditional automaker to an AI and robotics company. While the loss of decades of experience presents challenges, the company is placing its future on autonomy and the Sustainable Abundance referenced in Palani’s farewell. Whether the next generation of leaders can sustain the "unstoppable force" he described remains to be seen.