Tesla Loses Another Europe Chief in Midst of Berlin Factory Push

(Bloomberg) -- Another head of Tesla Inc.’s European operations has left the job in the midst of the electric-car maker’s efforts to build its first assembly plant on the continent.

Sascha Zahnd, who had been vice president of Tesla Europe for less than a year, has vacated the position, according to two people who worked with him previously. They asked not to be identified because they are no longer at Tesla.

Zahnd didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla tasked him with the Europe role last year as an addition to his duties as vice president of global supply chain.

German publication Manager Magazin reported earlier Friday that Zahnd was leaving the company following disputes with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk. Representatives for Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Musk, 48, has been pushing to start construction of a factory near Berlin with the aim of producing Model Y crossovers there as soon as the middle of 2021. Work at the site has been making progress despite minor coronavirus-related disruptions.

Zahnd took over the Tesla Europe job from Jan Oehmicke, who was vice president of the region from July 2018 through October 2019, according to his LinkedIn page.

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