Tesla dispels reports that it hired ex-Cruise Autonomy head Henry Kuang

Max Headroom 2025.06.28 2 min read

Tesla has dispelled reports that it has hired ex-Cruise Head of Autonomy Henry Kuang.

This morning, several media outlets reported that Tesla had filled the position of Director of AI and Deep Learning for Autonomous Driving with Kuang, who was the Head of Autonomy at General Motors’ failed autonomous vehicle company, Cruise.

The rumor then circulated to X, but Tesla has now denied that those reports are true.

Tesla’s Head of Autopilot and AI, Ashok Elluswamy, revealed that the reports are false:

fake news

— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 27, 2025

It would be easy to see how the hire might have been construed as real. Someone appears to have created a fake LinkedIn profile for Kuang, listing the new role at Tesla as their latest career move. The account appeared legitimate and bore all the hallmarks of a genuine page for Kuang, but it has since been removed from the site.

Additionally, there has been some rather high-level turnover at Tesla in recent days. The company recently let go of Omead Afshar, who was widely recognized as CEO Elon Musk’s right-hand man. Afshar assumed the role of North American sales head and European operations head late last year. He has been relieved of his duties, according to a Bloomberg report.

Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports

Alongside the loss of Afshar, Tesla’s Human Resources Head in Austin, Jenna Ferrua, also left the company this week.

This past week, Tesla launched its Robotaxi platform to a handful of people, marking the first time the company has given driverless rides to members of the public.

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