The main entrance to the Tesla factory in Grünheide, Brandenburg. picture alliance/dpa | Soeren Stache
Powertrain division boss Heiko Steinmetz announced by email that he was withdrawing immediately from the management of Tesla in Brandenburg, reports the “Handelsblatt”.
The reason: the difficult health situation in his family.
Steinmetz was considered a Musk confidant and was one of the influential managers in the German plant. He is said to have found clear words, particularly with regard to trade unions.
Heiko Steinmetz, top manager and member of the management board of Tesla Manufacturing Brandenburg SE, is leaving the company. This is the second change in management at the German Tesla company within a short period of time.
In an email to his staff this Monday (May 13), Steinmetz explained that he had to resign due to a difficult health situation in his family, reports the “Handelsblatt” first. It was only in April that Meriem Allouch retired as managing director of Tesla Manufacturing Brandenburg SE. Her successor: Harpert van Dijk.
According to the company organizational chart, Steinmetz was responsible for the drive division as Director Powertrain Manufacturing. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked at Tesla since 2020 and was previously chief engineer at Mercedes for battery development in Stuttgart. Tesla could not initially be reached in response to a short-term query from “Handelsblatt” about the consequences of his sudden departure.
Steinmetz was probably one of Musk’s confidants
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Steinmetz was considered a Musk confidant and was one of the influential managers in the German plant. He is said to have found clear words, particularly with regard to trade unions. At a works meeting in July 2023, he emphasized the importance of performance and criticized the unions for their information campaigns.
His departure follows a series of problems for Tesla, including global job cuts, but also the planned (400 jobs) in Grünheide. There are also quality defects in the Cybertruck and investigations into misleading information about the autopilot. Tesla’s share price has also fallen by 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
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