Tesla has lost two top designers - who are they and where did they go?

Tesla's design department has seen an exodus: according to Electrek, David Imai and Bernard Lee, one of the key designers behind its automotive styling, have left the company.

Here's What We Know

David Imai joined Tesla in 2011, when the company was still preparing to launch the Model S. His area of responsibility included, among other things, the exterior and interior of Tesla's first mass-market model. In 2019, he was promoted to design director. Imai also contributed significantly to the exterior of the Model 3.

Bernard Lee joined Tesla back in 2008 from Mazda together with chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. He was involved in the design of the first versions of the Model S, Model X, and the second-generation Roadster. In 2018, Lee briefly left Tesla to teach at Art Centre College of Design, but returned in 2020. After that, he worked on the design of the Cyber Cab and its production version.

Imai is known to have moved on to Arc, a startup that makes electric boats. Lee has not yet revealed his future plans.

The loss of two key designers who have worked at Tesla for more than a decade may indicate a regrouping in the company's design department. Although chief designer von Holzhausen remains in place, the departure of Tesla veterans could indicate internal changes or a new design vector for future models.

The attrition at Tesla has been ongoing for a year now, following the first wave of layoffs in 2024 of the department responsible for developing the Tesla Supercharger network.

Source: Electrek