Tesla's North American aftermarket chief leaves the company

After nine years at Tesla, Piero Landolfi, the company's director of Aftersales for the North American market, has joined other executives who have left the electric vehicle manufacturer, which is experiencing a period of declining sales.

Landolfi will become Vice President of Operations at Nimble, a company specializing in robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous technology for commerce. According to a statement he posted on LinkedIn, "Leaving Tesla was difficult because of the problem-solving mentality at the company."

The executive's departure is the latest in a series of moves at Tesla in recent months. He was preceded by North American Sales Director Troy Jones; one of the IT directors, Raj Jegannathan; Manufacturing Chief Omead Afshar; Software Chief David Lau; Battery Chief Vineet Mehta; and Milan Kovac, Director of Optimus, the humanoid robot program.

The company's latest quarterly results showed the largest drop in deliveries in the last decade, with a 13.5% decline in vehicle volume and a 12% drop in revenue between March and June. It missed the profitability targets expected by Wall Street analysts, despite achieving a robust operating margin of 15%.

The brand is developing a new, more affordable model, but production of this one hasn't yet reached the necessary volume—only a few units were produced last June. Once released, it's expected to boost the brand's financial results.

However, "we still have some tough quarters ahead of us," CEO Elon Musk said when asked by reporters about the discontinuation of US purchasing incentives, which included a $7,500 tax discount for the purchase of an electric vehicle.

Tesla's lineup is relatively old, despite a recent update to its most successful Model 3 and Model Y, and is under pressure from competition from Chinese rivals, as well as Elon Musk's political views, which have negatively affected sales.

For now, the company's focus is on its Cybercab and autonomous taxi service, for which it is seeking regulatory approval in San Francisco, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. The program is already being tested at its headquarters in Austin, Texas.