Tesla has named Joe Ward, its Vice President for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), to oversee global sales operations, according to a report from Bloomberg. The move comes as Tesla's automotive business continues to struggle, particularly in Europe where sales have collapsed over the past two years. Ward, who has led Tesla's EMEA operations for over five years, will now be responsible for the company's sales, service, and delivery organization globally.
He brings 15+ years of experience at the company, having joined as a logistics intern in 2010 and later moving to the Netherlands to lead Sales Administration in 2012. The appointment follows yet another executive departure at Tesla, with Raj Jegannathan leaving the company after 13 years in sales operations. Jegannathan had reported growing closer to CEO Elon Musk and was tapped to fill in for Troy Jones, who left as VP of North America Sales after 15 years.
This is part of a broader exodus of veteran executives from Tesla, including vehicle program managers for the Cybertruck, Model 3, and Model Y, as well as Omead Afshar, one of Musk's most trusted aides, who was briefly in charge of sales before leaving. Ward takes on the global role as Tesla faces its most significant sales crisis in Europe, with the automaker's European sales collapsing by 48% in Germany alone in 2025. The company hasn't introduced new models or significant refreshes to existing vehicles, and Musk's political activities have alienated many European buyers.
Promoting Ward to lead global sales is an interesting choice, given his experience running a major regional operation, but also being pulled from the region where Tesla is performing the worst. It's hard to put the blame for Tesla's demand issues on the sales and service organization, as it's simply a symptom of larger problems within the company. 9 billion last quarter, getting sales back on track is critical, regardless of how much Musk wants to talk about AI and robotaxis.
However, the sales leadership revolving door issue is not the cause of Tesla's demand problem; it's just a symptom of the company's broader struggles. Ward is now tasked with slowing down the sinking ship that is Tesla's automotive division while Musk races ahead into his dream of Tesla becoming a robotic and AI company. The appointment highlights the challenges Tesla faces in its efforts to revamp its sales strategy and address its demand issues, which will likely require significant changes to the company's operations and leadership structure.
This move may be seen as an attempt by Tesla to stabilize its sales organization, but it's unclear whether Ward's experience running a major regional operation will translate to success in leading global sales. With Tesla's demand issues stemming from deeper structural problems, it remains to be seen whether this appointment will be enough to turn the company around.
