Tesla Cybertruck Program Head Siddhant Awasthi Resigns

Tesla’s Cybertruck program head, Siddhant Awasthi, has left the company after eight years, stepping away just as the electric pickup faces falling demand, multiple recalls, and slowing production momentum.

Awasthi confirmed his departure in a LinkedIn post, thanking Elon Musk and colleagues for what he called “an incredible run.” He said he was proud to have worked on the Model 3, the Shanghai Gigafactory, and the Cybertruck, but offered no reason for leaving or indication of his next move. His profile now lists him as “Ex-Tesla.”

Cybertruck registrations in the U.S. sank about 63% in the third quarter, to nearly 5,400 vehicles, according to state data. It’s a steep slide for a pickup once billed by Tesla as a quarter-million-unit juggernaut — and now struggling to match that early hype.

The decline follows two major recalls in 2025:

• In March, roughly 46,000 units were recalled after trim panels risked detaching while driving.

• In October, another 6,200 trucks were recalled due to faulty off-road light bars.

Dealers in several states have since been offering discounts of $3,000 to $10,000, a rare move for Tesla vehicles, suggesting unsold stock is building.

The Cybertruck — unveiled in 2019 with bold promises and broken windows — has struggled to meet expectations. Its stainless-steel construction adds cost and weight, limiting range and production speed. Analysts say it has become one of Tesla’s most expensive programs, with unclear profit margins and uneven demand despite strong brand recognition.

Awasthi’s exit is the latest in a line of senior departures. Earlier this year, software executive David Lau left for OpenAI, along with multiple engineering leads in Tesla’s battery and robotics divisions. Insiders describe growing strain inside Tesla as new projects, including robotaxis, the Optimus humanoid robot, and the next-generation compact EV, compete for the same engineering resources.

Recent workforce studies add to the picture. Data from Moorepay places Tesla’s average employee tenure at 2.4 years, among the shortest in the tech-auto sector. Analysts warn that turnover in core programs like Cybertruck could delay future updates and limit scalability.

Awasthi’s tenure at Tesla covered some of its most aggressive phases of growth — from the Model 3 ramp-up to the launch of Giga Shanghai and the first Cybertruck deliveries. His departure leaves a leadership gap in one of Tesla’s most public projects.

The company has not named a successor or commented on his exit. The next head of the Cybertruck program will have to tackle quality issues, manage costs, and rebuild confidence in a vehicle once described by Musk as “the future of trucks.”

Whether the Cybertruck can recover its early hype now depends less on its stainless-steel panels and more on Tesla’s ability to prove it can still execute — even as its key people move on.

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