Drew Baglino, a former executive at Tesla who resigned earlier this month, sold shares worth around $181.5 million, according to an SEC filing.
Baglino, who joined Tesla in 2006, is selling around 1.14 million shares, according to the document, with a “approximate date of sale” of April 25 and a description of the transaction as an exercise of stock options.
Tesla said on April 15 that it is cutting off 10% of its global workforce, following a decline in first-quarter deliveries and a sharp drop in stock price. That day, Baglino and another firm veteran Rohan Patel announced their departure.
Baglino announced his departure in a statement made on X.
“I made the difficult decision to move on from Tesla after 18 years yesterday,” he stated in a blog post. “I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years.”
Baglino started as an engineer and rose through the ranks, most recently serving as senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, a position he had held since 2016. Many colleagues considered Baglino to be the unofficial chief of operations, as he reported directly to Musk.
Baglino sold almost $4 million worth of shares in two transactions this year, one in late February and the other in early April, according to documents. In both cases, he sold 10,500 shares while exercising stock options.
During earnings calls and other important business events, including a presentation of Tesla’s “Master Plan Part 3” in the spring of 2023, Baglino had become a familiar voice and face to shareholders, frequently discussing mining, battery manufacture, and performance.
Baglino did not reply to calls for comments. Tesla also declined to respond.
Baglino left as Tesla appeared to make a significant strategic shift.
Musk stated on Tesla’s earnings call this week that, while the firm aims to create affordable, new model electric cars in 2025, investors should focus on Tesla’s “autonomy roadmap.” Tesla announced it will present a robotaxi, or CyberCab, concept on August 8.
Musk also praised Tesla’s AI infrastructure investments and the company’s ability to finally provide self-driving vehicle technology, robotaxis, a driverless ride-hailing service, and a “sentient” humanoid robot. He even advised doubters to stay away from the stock.
“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla’s going to solve autonomy, I think they should not be an investor in the company,” Musk stated during the conference call.
Tesla’s share price, which had been down around 40% for the year prior to the results report, increased 18% in the two trading days following Musk’s comments, closing on Thursday at $170.18.
Toni Sacconaghi, a Bernstein analyst, is among those who are skeptical. In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Sacconaghi questioned whether the affordable EVs Musk promised would “really be new models, or tweaks on existing models.” He also stated that competitors, most notably Waymo, currently offer robotaxi services on the road, whereas Tesla is still working on autonomous car research and development.
Tesla announced a 9% loss in first-quarter revenue, the largest year-over-year drop since 2012, owing to falling demand and growing worldwide competition. The corporation also reported a 55% decline in net income for the quarter.
While Musk anticipates the second quarter to be stronger than the first, the business has not provided annual guidance.
At the end of the earnings call, Martin Viecha, Tesla’s vice president of investor relations, announced his resignation.
Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino is selling $181.5 million worth of stock, SEC filing says
