Omead Afshar, the Tesla executive in charge of monitoring operations at the company’s Texas plant, is apparently the focus of an internal probe into a “strange” glass purchase, according to a report. According to sources close to the matter, Afshar will likely take a leave of absence before Tesla terminates him permanently.
Afshar allegedly made an order for a “unique” type of glass that is difficult to obtain due to supply chain constraints, and informed personnel that it was for a “secret project.” According to Bloomberg, Tesla’s finance department raised concerns about the glass purchase early this year, prompting an internal investigation conducted by David Searle, Tesla’s acting head of legal.
While it is unclear whether the glass was intended for Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s personal use, Bloomberg reports that some staff involved in the event have already been fired. The scenario also throws into question if Afshar manipulated Tesla’s financial standing to obtain the glass.
According to his LinkedIn page, Afshar has been working for the “Office of the CEO at Tesla” since 2017. He replaces his current work title with a cowboy hat emoji, most likely referencing to his role in the construction and operation of Tesla’s Texas Gigafactory. Afshar has worked closely with Musk since joining the firm, with The Information describing him as Musk’s “right-hand guy.”
Afshar’s likely dismissal follows the resignation of Andrej Karpathy, Tesla’s head of AI. It also comes at a particularly difficult time for Tesla (and pretty much every other Musk-owned company), as Twitter tries to force Musk into his first $44 billion deal to buy the social platform.
