Jérôme Guillen, long considered Tesla’s number two, has left the Californian manufacturer. He had just been appointed president of the heavy-duty division, whose production of the Semi model could be delayed.
Only three months after his appointment as president of Tesla’s heavyweight division, Jérôme Guillen, a Frenchman long considered the number two in the company, left the Californian manufacturer on June 3, 2021. The reasons for his departure are not known for the time being. In a document registered with the SEC, the US body in charge of regulating and supervising financial markets, Tesla simply thanks him for his many contributions and wishes him “the best for the rest of his career”.
Who is Jérôme Guillen
Jérôme Guillen arrived at Tesla in 2010 after having worked in the heavy division of Daimler, in particular on the development of the Cascadia semi-trailer for Freightliner, the American subsidiary of the German company. At Tesla, he quickly played an important role with CEO Elon Musk. He led the Model S sedan program from 2010 to 2013 and served as interim vice president of vehicle engineering. From 2013 to 2015, he oversaw Tesla’s worldwide sales and service operations as Vice President. After a few months of absence, he joined Tesla’s heavy-duty division in 2016. He then became president of the Tesla automotive division. in 2018 before returning in March 2021 to the heavyweight division as a president. He was also in charge of Semi development from 2017, until he became the president of automotive division.
The production of the Semi delayed?
The appointment, which took place in the midst of production of the Semi prototype, has already been postponed. In a document presenting its results for the fourth quarter of 2020, Tesla indicated that the Semi program is still in development, but deliveries of the car will begin in 2021.
However, in another annual document filed with the SEC, the manufacturer also noted that there could be delays in “launching and/or ramping up production” of certain products such as the Semi.
In addition, that document no longer mentions the promise of Semi delivery in 2021. Note that production of the latter, like the Cybertruck, depends on Tesla’s ability to produce new 4680 battery packs (which should provide a significant increase in capacity.) ) at a reasonable price. So far, that goal has not been achieved.
On June 6, 2021, Elon Musk also announced the cancellation of the Model S Plaid +, which was also supposed to use 4680 cell batteries.
