Tesla’s head of global security, Jeff Jones, is no longer working with the company after just 11 months on the job, according to one current and one former Tesla employee.
These people said that Jones was dismissed from the electric vehicle maker in mid-November, but the circumstances around his departure were not publicized. Tesla told employees only that Jones’ “position was no longer needed,” they said.
In September, Tesla hired Karl Wagner, a former executive manager and senior CIA operations officer, as a senior director of global security, according to his LinkedIn profile. It’s not clear how Wagner’s and Jones’ jobs overlapped, or if Wagner replaced Jones.
The company declined to comment on Jones’ departure. Jones did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
As a senior director and head of global security, Jones joined Tesla after a tumultuous couple of years at Uber. He reported directly to Elon Musk, and managed security teams at Tesla’s major facilities including its Fremont, California car plant and battery factory near Reno, Nevada (Gigafactory 1).
During Jones’ eleven-month tenure, a former Tesla employee named Karl Hansen filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC alleging, among other things, that the company suffered and hid the theft of raw materials, worth tens of millions of dollars, from investors.
Tesla embarked on broad restructuring back in June, slashing its work force by at least 9 percent. In addition to those it has fired or laid off, a string of executives have moved on from Tesla in 2018, including former engineering leader Doug Field, supply chain vice president Liam O’Connor, and legal vice president Phil Rothenberg, among others.
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