BREAKING: Tesla SVP Darryl Siry resigns!
by Sam Abuelsamid on Dec 2nd 2008 at 11:48AM 
Siry and the Tesla Roadster
We just got word that the turmoil at Tesla Motors is continuing as SVP for Marketing and Sales Darryl Siry has tendered his resignation. According to the post on Siry's personal blog, he is leaving "due to some disagreements in strategy." We talked to Siry but he declined to elaborate any further on the specifics of the disagreements. Recently, Chairman Elon Musk took over direct control of the company when he replaced previous CEO Ze'ev Drori at the silicon valley startup. Apparently Tesla has already found a replacement and Siry has been working to manage the transition in recent weeks. Siry has no immediate plans for where to go next, but promises to do more blogging on the alternative fuel vehicle industry.
Gallery: Riding in the Tesla Roadster
[Source: Darryl Siry]
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Red 12:20PM (12/02/2008)
With Musk's arrogant self at the head, I don't think this really surprises anybody. It all seems to be about what Musk wants and not what's necessarily best for the company as a whole. Those two things can be completely different from one another. I don't see any long-term viability in running a company that way.
Reply
Peter 12:29PM (12/02/2008)
I can't imagine Musk wants anything other than what's best for Tesla. He has invested more money in the company than anybody else.
Red 2:16PM (12/02/2008)
Oh, I'm not saying that. I'm sure he does, but he just doesn't seem to understand it's not all about him. He was "co-founder", meaning there was more than one person who shared the overall vision of the company. Everytime drama jumps off at Tesla, Musk is blaming everybody else, instead of taking the reigns and saying look, "WE have a vision, and WE need to figure out the best way to get there." A company needs to be more than the sum of its largest investor, or a couple of celebrities with their names on your waiting list.
If that makes sense.
RIP TESLA 12:48PM (12/02/2008)
This company doesn't quite know what direction it wants to take. All of these left turns will only get it back to where they are headed and that's bankruptcy. It was fun while it lasted.
Reply
Travis Rassat 1:31PM (12/02/2008)
This is just my uneducated opinion, but I think Tesla's biggest problem is that they are too open to the public about what's going on inside their company. By being so "Web 2.0 hip and connected real-time" and having their blogs where they essentially air out all of their dirty laundry in front of the whole world, they let us see too much of their inner workings. A relatively radical, relatively new startup like this is going to have a lot of turnover, change, transition, arrogance, egos, etc.
I hate to say it, but perhaps it is time for Tesla to be a little bit more cold and corporate, for lack of a better way to describe it. If I were running a company like this, I wouldn't want any employees blogging about the company - all info should be coming from official press releases. In this case, it could easily be spun in a more favorable light when a new SVP was named.
I dunno, maybe I'm being a bit jaded today, but I guess this doesn't strike me as being all that surprising, or really that big of a deal. It could very well be a good thing.
Reply
Realistic_Idealist 1:46PM (12/02/2008)
Here's a joke i just made up....
Question:
How many nerds doe it take to run a car company?
Answer:
NONE! Because this one is going downhill all by itself.
p.s.
I'm a nerd and this makes me cry inside. Just blame Musk...
Reply
jake 2:29PM (12/02/2008)
While I'm still in strong support of the company, there's something about Musk that seems to irk most people, esp employees (doesn't help that he was at the reigns to fire so many people, both times).
Reply
jpm 2:57PM (12/02/2008)
Settle down people. It was the marketing guy that left. They're usually full of shit and don't really add much value to a company anyways.
Reply
OhmExcited 4:48PM (12/02/2008)
After Musk threw Martin and others down the stairs, Siry was hitting the press saying that the moves were about "accountability". Then the CEO of Tesla announced Siry's promotion. Shortly thereafter they are firing Siry (after Musk made himself CEO -- the, what, 4th one in a relatively brief period?)
I do not believe Musk has the leadership skills to inspire the people who work for him. I do not see a bright future for Tesla Motors. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
Reply
mal 9:07AM (12/03/2008)
@ red
Musk the "co founder"? Nope.
Tesla was founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon was the principle funder who joined the company about a year later.
Reply
roz 5:02PM (12/05/2008)
I think its an indication of bad leadership when you start throwing people overboard because you run into problems. They should never have axed Eberhard.
When you don't like the way things are going, destroying the team rarely helps. It just means you then have a new problem of rebuilding the team. When you have smart committed passionate people, coaching is the answer. Work together and you can improve the organization and in the end get loyalty from all levels of the company.
Reply
Watching from the Sidelines 4:21PM (12/08/2008)
Red, Just a note.. Elon Musk was in no way a Co-Founder. It was 2 people. Martin Eberhard & Marc Tarpenning.
ELON attepmpts to do this with every company he is involved with.... TAKE THE CREDIT>.....
ELON... Sorry but you did not create PAYPAL EITHER.
Get a grip.
Reply