Tesla energy chief exits as Cybercab lead joins Rivian

Mike Snyder is leaving as Tesla pivots to AI, according to The Wall Street Journal, while Cybercab assembly manager Jody Kerns joins Rivian.

Mike Snyder, Tesla’s vice president of energy and charging, has stepped down, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Journal said he is leaving as the company pivots to AI. On the same day, Electrek reported that the manager in charge of final assembly for Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi is leaving for Rivian.

Taken together, the departures remove a senior leader from Tesla’s energy storage and Supercharging business and a second key figure from the Cybercab launch, in a week when the company is focused on its long-delayed Roadster reveal, scheduled for the evening of 15 October.

Energy chief departs

According to Reuters, citing the Journal’s report, Snyder was Tesla’s top energy executive. He joined Tesla in 2014 and rose to run the Megapack industrial battery unit.

He was promoted to vice president in 2024 after a company-wide restructuring and layoffs, which included the departure of longtime energy head Drew Baglino, according to an account of the Journal’s report. That account said AJ Booth, senior director of energy product engineering, will take over the role.

Snyder’s biography on the American Clean Power Association website says his organisation covered energy manufacturing in Lathrop, Reno and Buffalo, a global service team, product engineering, and the Megapack, Powerwall, Solar and Supercharging business units. Earlier this month, he represented Tesla in a strategic agreement with NatPower for more than 25 GWh of battery storage systems in Europe.

Cybercab assembly lead heads to Rivian

Jody Kerns, Tesla’s senior manager of Cybercab general assembly at Gigafactory Texas, is joining Rivian as director of general assembly for the R2 in Normal, Illinois, Electrek reported. Kerns announced the move on LinkedIn.

He took over Cybercab assembly in February 2026, the same month the first Cybercab without a steering wheel came off the line. Before joining Tesla in January 2024, he spent 14 years at Volkswagen of America, where he finished as director of assembly.

He is the second Cybercab launch leader to leave this year. Michael So, who headed Cybercab new product introduction from September 2024 to April 2026, left to join Austin nuclear startup Aalo Atomics, Electrek noted.

Timing for both carmakers

Commercial Cybercab rides began in Austin on 3 September. A week later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued Tesla with a special order demanding sworn proof that a car with no steering wheel or brake pedal meets federal safety standards, according to Electrek.

Meanwhile, Rivian is ramping up R2 production. Deliveries began on 9 June, the company built 19,751 vehicles in the third quarter, and it has kept its 2026 delivery guidance at 65,000 to 70,000, Electrek reported. Kerns described his goal as making the R2 “the best electric SUV in the market”.