The number of senior employees at Tesla is falling like dominoes. In the wake of ongoing mass strikes and layoffs, another long-time employee has left Elon Musk’s company.

Tesla’s Vice President of Finance and Business Operations, Sreela Venkataratnam, has worked at the company since early 2013, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her 11-year tenure began as Director of Finance Operation before she was promoted to Senior Director Finance two years later and finally held the position of Vice President from June 2019 to June 2024.

Two days ago, she announced her departure from the automaker in a LinkedIn post. Although she was proud of her accomplishments and the company’s growth over the years, she finally confirmed her departure when she wrote this week: “After 11 incredible years, I am saying goodbye to Tesla. Looking back on this journey, it has been nothing short of extraordinary.”

She outlined her projects since her early days at Tesla, when it was “a company with annual revenue of less than a billion dollars, a market capitalization of about four billion dollars and fewer than 3,000 cars delivered per year,” and proudly declared that she was “one of only two female vice presidents in the company.” Looking at the development of Elon Musk’s carmaker, she also said: “I am proud of how much we have achieved together.”

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Former Tesla CFO responds to post

Jason Wheeler, Tesla’s former CFO, praised Venkataratnam’s decision in the comments. “You did it right, Sreela. Congratulations on a great time at a company that hasn’t always been easy to work at. Bravo!”

The former Tesla vice president expressed her gratitude to Wheeler and agreed with him. “This is definitely not for the faint of heart! It’s been great working with you, especially during these tough days!” As it turns out, Venkataratnam clearly needs some time away from the hustle and bustle and crippling exhaustion. Her LinkedIn post confirms that she will be taking a break before looking for new professional opportunities.

Venkataratnam’s departure came months after the company laid off over 10% of its workforce. The Tesla Motors CEO also told employees in April that the company needed to “get absolutely tough on reducing headcount and costs.”

Other high-ranking Tesla employees who have parted ways in the recent past

In addition to the mass layoffs that took place behind the scenes, several other senior executives left their jobs of their own accord.

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A former Tesla employee who was previously associated with the brand for nearly eight years told Business Insider that her lack of trust in Musk’s leadership was the reason for her exit. Despite her initial confidence in his and the company’s vision, her opinion of her eventually waned.

The person even went so far as to claim that he was “quite low-key for some time in 2023” and that “there was radio silence from Musk for a while” after he took over Twitter. He later turned his attention back to Tesla and sent out an email in which he actively participated in approving all new hires.

One of the statements made by this former employee coincides with those of Venkataratnam and Wheeler. They also emphasized that “Tesla’s breathtaking speed can be exciting, but also exhausting.”

Drew Baglino, the company’s former senior vice president of propulsion and electrical engineering, also announced earlier this year that he would be leaving Tesla. He was associated with Musk’s business for 18 years.

“Yesterday I made the difficult decision to leave Tesla after 18 years. I am so grateful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years.

“I’ve loved tackling almost every problem 🤣 we’ve solved as a team and I’m satisfied…” he tweeted on X, formerly Twitter.

Around the same time, Tesla’s vice president of public policy and business development Rohan Patel also left the company. He told TechCrunch he resigned due to “general changes” at the company.