Tesla's Head of Software Departs as Robotaxi Reveal Looms

That can't be good.

Softwearing Thin

Elon Musk has been saying for a decade that Tesla is a software company. But the man who helped make it that way is headed for greener pastures at perhaps the worst possible time.

According to insiders who spoke to Bloomberg, longtime Tesla software VP David Lau is departing the company after nearly 13 years.

Throughout his tenure at Tesla, Lau not only oversaw the electric vehicle company's "infotainment" systems and over-air updates, but also was one of the few C-suiters who would regularly appear with Musk at promotional events as, essentially, the face of its tech.

And for most of Lau's time at Tesla, his mercurial boss has over-promised and under-delivered on both autonomous vehicles and robotaxis. Now, Musk's self-imposed deadline of June 2025 is hurtling ever closer — and the software czar that would be responsible for it is, apparently, heading for the hills.

Departure Gate

Though a lot remains unclear about this story, including who tipped Bloomberg off and exactly why Lau is leaving Tesla, it comes not only amid the looming robotaxi deadline, but also in the wake even more executive departures.

As The Verge reported based on insider intel at the end of March, Tesla's head of engineering, Haofei Wang, is also leaving the company. Similarly undisclosed sources told Axios around the same time that the company's communications director, Dave Heinzinger, is also leaving after only three months in the role.

While all of these reports remain tacitly unconfirmed, there is at very least something compelling alleged insiders to leak such stories to the press.

During this same spate of reported departures, Tesla has also seen historic stock losses amid protests against Musk and his politicking on both sides of the pond. Earlier in the week, a Cybertruck owner revealed on X that he'd been offered a mere $54,000, or roughly half of what he paid, from the used vehicle dealership Carvana — a post that the official Cybertruck account took umbrage against.

Between Musk taking a battering ram to Tesla's brand image and subsequently tanking its share value, it's not hard to see why anyone would want to leave the EV company — and we won't be surprised if this apparent executive exodus continues.

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