Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino is selling $181.5 million worth of stock, SEC filing says

Former


Tesla
executive
Drew
Baglino,
who
announced
his

resignation
earlier
this
month,
sold
shares
in
the
electric
vehicle
company
worth
around
$181.5
million,
according
to
a

filing
on
Thursday
with
the
SEC.

Baglino,
who
joined
Tesla
in
2006,
is
selling
about
1.14
million
of
his
shares,
the
filing
said,
listing
an “approximate
date
of
sale”
of
April
25,
and
describing
it
as
an
exercise
of
stock
options.

Tesla
announced
on
April
15
that
it’s
laying
off
10%
of
its
global
workforce,
following
a

drop
in
first-quarter
deliveries
and
a
steep
slide
in
the
stock
price.
That
day,
Baglino
and
fellow
company
veteran
Rohan
Patel
said
they
were
leaving
the
company.

Baglino
announced
his
departure

in
a
statement
posted
to
X.

“I
made
the
difficult
decision
to
move
on
from
Tesla
after
18
years
yesterday,”
he
wrote. “I
am
so
thankful
to
have
worked
with
and
learned
from
the
countless
incredibly
talented
people
at
Tesla
over
the
years.”

Baglino
began
as
an
engineer
and
climbed
the
ranks,
most
recently
serving
as
senior
vice
president
of
powertrain
and
energy
engineering,
a
job
he’d
held
since
2016.
Reporting
directly
to
Musk,
Baglino
was
seen
as
the
unofficial
chief
of
operations
by
many
colleagues.

Prior
to
the
latest
sale,
Baglino
had
unloaded
about
$4
million
worth
of
shares
in
two
transactions
this
year
—
one
in
late
February
and
the
other
in
early
April,
filings
show.
In
each
case,
he
sold
10,500
shares,
exercising
stock
options
in
both.

During
earnings
calls
and
other
major
company
events,
including
a
presentation
of
Tesla’s “Master
Plan
part
3”
in
the
spring
of
2023,
Baglino
had
become
a
familiar
voice
and
face
to
shareholders,
often
discussing
mining,
battery
manufacturing
and
performance.

Baglino
didn’t
respond
to
requests
for
comment.
Tesla
also
didn’t
provide
a
comment.

Baglino’s
resigned
as
Tesla
appeared
to
embark
on
a
major
strategic
shift.

Musk
said
on
the

company’s
earnings
call
this
week
that
while
Tesla
still
intends
to
produce
affordable,
new
model
electric
cars
in
2025,
investors
should
focus
more
on
Tesla’s “autonomy
roadmap.”
Tesla
said
it
plans
to
unveil
a
robotaxi,
or
CyberCab,
design
on
Aug.
8.

Musk
also
touted
Tesla’s
investments
in
AI
infrastructure
and
the
company’s
potential
to
finally
deliver
self-driving
vehicle
technology,
robotaxis,
a
driverless
ride-hailing
service,
and
a “sentient”
humanoid
robot.
He
even
told
doubters
to
stay
away
from
the
stock.

“If
somebody
doesn’t
believe Tesla’s
going
to
solve
autonomy,
I
think
they
should
not
be
an
investor
in
the
company,”
Musk
said
on
the
call.

Tesla’s
share
price,
which
was
down
about
40%
for
the
year
prior
to
the
earnings
report,
jumped
18%
in
the
two
trading
days
after

Musk’s
commentary,
closing
on
Thursday
at
$170.18.

Bernstein
analyst
Toni
Sacconaghi
is
among
the
skeptics.
In
an
interview
with
CNBC’s “Squawk
on
the
Street,”
Sacconaghi
questioned
whether
the
affordable
EVs
Musk
promised
will “really
be
new
models,
or
tweaks
on
existing
models.”
He
also
said
that
competitors,
notably
Waymo,
already
have
robotaxi
services
on
the
road,
while
Tesla
is
still
grappling
with
autonomous
vehicle
research
and
development.

Tesla
reported
a
9%
drop
in
first-quarter
revenue,
its
steepest
year-over-year
decline
since
2012,
due
to
declining
demand
and
increased
global
competition.
The
company
also
reported
a
55%
drop
in
net
income
in
the
quarter.

While
Musk
said
he
expects
the
second
quarter
to
be
better
than
the
first,
the
company
hasn’t
issued
guidance
for
the
year.

At
the
end
of
the
earnings
call,
Martin
Viecha,
Tesla’s
vice
president
of
investor
relations,
announced
that
he,
too,
was
resigning.

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