Tesla’s Vice President of Software Engineering Resigns in Protest: “Elon Musk Should Get Out of Tesla”

Tesla’s leadership crisis deepened this week as yet another high-ranking executive announced his departure, this time with a scathing rebuke of CEO Elon Musk. David Lau, Vice President of Software Engineering and a 13-year veteran of the electric vehicle (EV) giant, has stepped down from his role, Bloomberg reported Friday. While executive turnover is not uncommon in the fast-paced tech sector, Lau’s exit is particularly significant—and emblematic of deeper unrest at Tesla.

In what sources close to the matter describe as a point-of-no-return moment, Lau reportedly left the company with a pointed message: “Elon Musk should get out of Tesla.” The quote, shared anonymously with several media outlets, is sending shockwaves through Silicon Valley and Wall Street alike.

With Lau’s departure, Tesla continues to bleed executive talent at a time when the company is facing a combination of sagging sales, political controversies, and internal instability. Analysts are now beginning to ask: How much longer can Tesla’s core leadership structure survive under Musk’s increasingly polarizing presence?

David Lau’s departure marks the end of an era. Having joined Tesla in October 2012, Lau played a crucial role in the development of Tesla’s proprietary software infrastructure. Over more than a decade, he helped architect systems that span nearly every function of Tesla vehicles—from battery management and high-voltage control to powertrain optimization and data engineering.

In January 2017, Lau was promoted to Vice President of Software Engineering, positioning him near the top of Tesla’s technical hierarchy. His software teams were instrumental in the seamless integration between Tesla’s hardware and software, which has long been one of the company’s most celebrated differentiators.

“He wasn’t just a VP, he was the backbone of Tesla’s software stack,” said one former employee who worked directly with Lau. “His departure signals something much bigger than a career move—it’s a warning.”

Lau is far from the only high-ranking executive to leave Tesla in the past 12 months. His exit follows a pattern of departures that appears to be accelerating:

• Drew Baglino, Tesla’s former Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy, resigned in the spring of 2024. Baglino had been seen as one of Musk’s closest engineering confidants.

• Rohan Patel, Tesla’s former head of public policy, also left around the same time, citing personal reasons—but industry insiders suggested frustration with the company's shifting political tone.

• In October 2024, just days before the anticipated Robotaxi showcase, Jos Dings, Tesla’s policy director for Europe, resigned quietly without public explanation.

Sources close to the company suggest that Lau’s departure may have been simmering for months, especially as internal tensions mounted over Musk’s increasingly political behavior and Tesla’s declining market performance.

The timing of Lau’s resignation couldn’t be worse for Tesla.

The company just reported its worst Q1 sales figures in over two years, sparking concern across financial markets. While Tesla attributed the decline to production bottlenecks during the refresh of the Model Y, analysts and insiders have pointed to deeper structural issues, including waning consumer trust, intensified competition from Chinese automakers like BYD, and an executive bench that’s being hollowed out.

Tesla shares, already under immense pressure from a 36% stock price plunge in Q1 that wiped out $460 billion in market cap, could see even more volatility as investor confidence continues to erode.

A growing segment of both Tesla employees and shareholders are expressing concern over what they see as Elon Musk’s disengagement from core Tesla operations.

Since taking on the role of director of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump’s second administration, Musk has been increasingly absorbed in political battles. His involvement has included sweeping federal employee layoffs, aggressive deregulation efforts, and high-profile public rallies endorsing right-wing judicial candidates.

Internally, this shift has reportedly left a vacuum in leadership. “There’s no clear sense of direction,” said another Tesla engineering lead who asked not to be named. “Musk is focused on Washington, not on Fremont or Austin. It’s like Tesla is operating on autopilot—without Autopilot.”

Even longtime supporters are beginning to question whether Musk's attention is spread too thin. Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), Neuralink, and now DOGE—Musk is juggling five massive responsibilities, and according to some insiders, Tesla is paying the price.

Tesla has long been known as a magnet for top-tier engineering talent, drawn by the company’s mission, innovation, and Musk’s image as a tech visionary. But recent developments suggest that this allure may be fading.

“People used to line up for a shot to work at Tesla,” said a former recruiter who spent five years at the company. “Now they’re weighing the job offer against the chaos they see in the headlines every week.”

The situation is especially critical in the software division, where Tesla competes not only with traditional automakers but also with tech giants like Apple, Google, and Nvidia for engineering talent. Losing a figure like David Lau, who managed cross-functional, deeply embedded software teams, is a blow that may take years to recover from.

In the immediate aftermath of the news, Tesla stock dipped another 3% in after-hours trading, bringing its total year-to-date decline to nearly 40%.

Investors, already jittery from the Q1 earnings miss, now face a leadership vacuum. "When you lose someone like Lau, you're not just losing talent—you're losing institutional memory, continuity, and trust," said Clara Wentz, a senior analyst at CapitalBridge Partners. “And when that’s paired with a CEO who seems increasingly distracted, it sets off alarm bells.”

Tesla has not yet issued an official statement regarding Lau’s departure. Nor has Elon Musk publicly addressed the resignation or the alleged comment: “Elon Musk should get out of Tesla.” However, Musk is scheduled to appear at an upcoming press event tied to the launch of a new AI software update for Tesla vehicles—one Lau’s team would have been instrumental in developing.

The question now is not just whether Tesla can replace David Lau, but whether the company can stop the bleeding—both in executive talent and market confidence.

As Tesla enters one of the most uncertain periods in its history, insiders say more exits may be coming.

“It’s no longer just about the cars,” said one anonymous senior leader still at Tesla. “It’s about culture, direction, and whether people still believe this ship has a captain.”

David Lau’s exit might go down as a footnote in some quarterly report, but in reality, it could represent something much more profound: a breaking point in Tesla’s corporate identity.

Once defined by radical innovation and an almost cult-like internal loyalty, Tesla now seems increasingly adrift—caught between a CEO’s political crusade and a company culture straining to hold together.

If Elon Musk doesn’t re-engage with Tesla in a meaningful, sustained way, David Lau may not be the last top leader to say: Enough is enough.