Tesla’s Charles Mwangi Quits to Join a Stealth Startup

Charles Mwangi has announced he is leaving Tesla for a stealth startup, six years after joining the tech-engineering firm .

A stealth startup is a nascent company that operates by avoiding public attention. This is mainly done to hide information from competitors. It is phenomenon is well known in the venture capital (VC) community.

“After slightly over 6 years, I have decided to leave Tesla. My time at Tesla has been one of the most enriching and fulfilling experiences in my life. I’ve had the privilege to work alongside the world’s most talented and resilient people, in pursuit of a worthy mission,” said Mr Mwangi.

Tesla’s Fremont factory, in California, has been his home since 2013. Before that, he had a six-year stint at Nissan Motor Corporation, based in Mississippi, as Senior Manufacturing Engineer.

Mr Mwangi is an alumni of Strathmore High School and JKUAT, where he pursued his Bachelor of Science – Civil Engineering before he proceeded to Tennessee State University for Bachelor of Science – Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

“In my next journey, I am lucky enough to have found that same inspiration as the early days of Tesla but in a completely different industry. A world-changing human mission. Global scale,” he added.

His colleague Shen Jackson, who until his exit was the Director of Manufacturing Engineering, will join him in his quest for the present pursuits.

Tesla, an American automotive and energy company owned by Elon Musk, has experienced high-level senior management turnover since last year. Some of top ranking individuals that left the firm include investor relations director Aaron Chew, senior director of global sales, marketing, and delivery Dan Kim, head of global security Jeff Jones, and senior director of production and quality Antoin Abou-Haydar.

Others are head of human resources Gabrielle Toledano, chief accountant Dave Morton, head of communications Sarah, vice president of global supply management Liam O’Connor, vice president of worldwide finance and operations Justin McAnear and legal vice president Phil Rothenberg.