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Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino To Sell $181.5 Million Worth Of Stock

The SEC filed a document on Thursday revealing that former Tesla executive Drew Baglino, who announced his retirement earlier this month, sold shares in the electric vehicle business for around $181.5 million.

TakeAway Points:

  • According to a filing with the SEC, former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino, who announced his resignation earlier this month, is selling 1.14 million of his shares for a total estimated value of $181.5 million.
  • Tesla is currently undergoing a massive reorganisation that will see more than 10% of its global workforce eliminated and more funds allocated to the advancement of robotaxis and self-driving technology.
  • This week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk declared, “I think people should not be investors in the firm if they do not believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy.”

$181.5 million In Electric Car Shares Sold

With an “approximate date of sale” of April 25 and a description of it as an exercise of stock options, Baglino, who joined Tesla in 2006, is selling roughly 1.14 million of his shares, according to the document.

With a decline in first-quarter deliveries and a sharp decline in the stock price, Tesla revealed on April 15 that it is laying off 10% of its global workforce. Baglino announced their departure from the organisation that day, along with fellow seasoned employee Rohan Patel.

Baglino, who  announced his departure in a statement posted to X said,

“I made the difficult decision to move on from Tesla after 18 years yesterday. I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years.” he wrote.

Drew Baglino Career Path

After starting his career as an engineer, Baglino rose through the ranks, most recently holding the position of senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, which he had held since 2016. Many coworkers considered Baglino to be the unofficial chief of operations, despite his direct reporting to Musk.

Files indicate that prior to the most recent sale, Baglino had sold shares for around $4 million in two other transactions this year, one in late February and the other in early April. He exercised his stock options in both situations and sold 10,500 shares.

Baglino had been a familiar voice and face to shareholders during earnings calls and other significant corporate events, including a presentation of Tesla’s “Master Plan Part 3” in the spring of 2023, frequently discussing mining, battery manufacture, and performance.

Affordable Electric Cars from Tesla

Baglino’s resignation coincided with what seemed to be a significant strategic change at Tesla.

On the company’s earnings call this week, Musk stated that although Tesla still plans to develop new, reasonably priced models of electric cars by 2025, investors should pay more attention to the company’s “autonomy roadmap.” On August 8, Tesla said that it would present a robotaxi, or CyberCab, design.

In addition, Musk praised Tesla for its AI infrastructure investments and the company’s ability to eventually introduce robotaxis, a driverless ride-hailing service, self-driving car technology, and a “sentient” humanoid robot. He even warned others who had doubts about the stock to avoid it.

“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company,” Musk said on the call.

Tesla Share Price Surges

The year-to-date decline in Tesla’s share price was almost 40%, but on the two trading days following Musk’s remarks, the price increased by 18%, with the share ending at $170.18 on Thursday.

One of the sceptics is Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Sacconaghi questioned if Musk’s anticipated inexpensive electric vehicles would “truly be new models or improvements on existing models” during an appearance with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” He added that while Tesla is currently struggling with autonomous car research and development, rivals, most notably Waymo, now offer robotaxi services on the road.

Tesla announced a 9% loss in first-quarter revenue—the company’s biggest year-over-year decline since 2012, given the combination of waning demand and heightened competition around the world,. A 55% decrease in net income for the period was also disclosed by the corporation.

Musk expressed his expectation that the second quarter would surpass the first, but the business has not released its annual outlook.

Martin Viecha, vice president of investor relations at Tesla, announced his resignation at the conclusion of the company’s results call.

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