Read Afshar, a top executive of Tesla Inc and a key lieutenant of Elon Musk is under scrutiny.
The executive running the Texas factory is under scanner for his role in purchase planning of construction materials.
According to Bloomberg News, Tesla has already sacked a few workers with the probe. The company also plans to fire Afshar by asking him to go on leave initially. Terms of Afshar’s exit are worked out according to people who asked not to be identified.
Musk and Tesla did not respond to comments, and Afshar declined to comment.
According to people, the internal investigation started after a purchase order for construction materials seemed suspicious. David Searle, Acting Legal head of Tesla, led the investigation.
The company’s internal audit and finance group referred an order for a special glass early this year. The investigation team is probing whether the glass was meant for the personal use of CEO Musk.
The said glass was difficult to procure due to disruption in the global supply chain. However, Tesla’s stature as a global auto powerhouse made it easy for the company to acquire materials that were in high demand.
According to people, Afshar requested a purchase order to be created, stating that it was for a secret project. So far, Afshar has continued to work in the Austin Plant but will most likely go on leave as the investigation continues.
Afshar overlooked the construction of the Austin plant and later production. He has been one of the top Tesla executives and a member of the CEO’s office since 2017. Afshar’s LinkedIn profile has a cowboy hat emoji in his job title.
Afshar was Musk’s fixer in the company, and he was pressed into service to smooth out any operational issues. In an interview at the University of California, Irvine, in 2019, Afshar, an alma mater, said he performed several roles in Tesla for many years.
Afshar has been a troubleshooter at Tesla, and people were not happy to see him as it meant there was a problem.
According to Afshar’s LinkedIn profile, he graduated from the University of California in 2009 in biomedical engineering. He also experiences as a Ski instructor at Mammoth Mountain in California.
Afshar worked at St. Jude Medical Inc. and its new owner Abbot Laboratories for more than six years in the product engineering role before joining Tesla. His recruitment was part of a young, ambitious team that Musk handpicked to carry out his orders.
Afshar has been a jack of all trades. In early 2022, when the US was rolling out the Covid-19 vaccines, Afshar wrote to the lead epidemiologist to assist with a vaccine shot distribution. In 2022, he took potential recruits from the University of Texas to tour of Austin plant. He also received a personal acknowledgment from Musk at Tesla Cyber Rodeo Event in April.
