Tesla Exec Klaus Grohmann Ousted As Result Of Clashing With CEO Elon Musk (Rumor)
Klaus Grohmann, the former head of Grohmann Engineering, the German manufacturing firm recently acquired by Tesla, was ousted as an exec at Tesla following clashes with CEO Elon Musk. Well, that’s the rumor anyway, originating with an unnamed source quoted by Reuters.
The rumored clashes were reportedly relating to strategy concerning the future of Grohmann Engineering’s legacy clients — which were, reportedly, to be considered less important than Tesla’s own internal development. That would figure, of course — why else would Tesla have acquired the firm?
So, why would Grohmann object? Considered together with the news of the threat of a strike at the Grohmann facility by IG Metall (a major union in Germany), one has to wonder a bit how much the whole acquisition was a setup. Were the major German auto manufacturers (Daimler and BMW were/are customers of Grohmann) planning to “allow” the acquisition specifically to cause problems for Tesla? Or is there nothing to this line of speculation?
Reuters provides more: “Tesla planned to keep Grohmann on, and Grohmann wanted to stay, but the clash with Musk over how to treat existing clients resulted in his departure, the source said.
“Grohmann disagreed with Musk’s demands to focus management attention on Tesla projects… which included Tesla’s direct German-based rivals Daimler and BMW, two sources familiar with the matter said.
“Reached by phone, Klaus Grohmann declined to comment on the circumstances of his leaving, citing confidentiality clauses.”
Grohmann did note, though: “I definitely did not depart because I had lost interest in working.”
As would be expected, Tesla hasn’t said much publicly, other than to praise Grohmann for building an “incredible company.”
Notably, Tesla’s Model 3 production plans are reportedly still on track despite the above.
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