Tesla Has a People Problem

*By Carlo Versano* Tesla's chief people officer taking an extended leave of absence just 15 months after joining the team is yet another disruption for a company that needs to project stability, said Brian Deagon of Investor's Business Daily. "These kinds of things do not help at all," Deagon said. Gaby Toledano's leave, which Tesla said was at her request, is on the heels of the departure of chief engineer Doug Field, who decamped for Apple earlier this summer after he too [took a leave of absence](https://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-chief-engineer-is-out-after-taking-leave-of-absence-1530561319). These management changes, while not unique to Tesla, come at the worst possible for time for Elon Musk, Deagon said. Musk's summer of self-inflicted chaos continued Thursday when a lawyer [sent](https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1034761900100407296) the CEO a notice of intent to sue on behalf of his client, a diver involved in the Thai cave rescue who Musk slammed on Twitter. Tesla shareholders are showing signs of impatience with all the drama. The stock is down roughly 28 percent from its highs of the year, hit Aug. 7 after Musk's now-infamous tweet that he had "funding secured" to take the company private. "What Tesla really needs is for Elon Musk to get more rest," Deagon said. The company still is without a second-in-command, which would be a burden for any CEO ー let alone one who runs two large companies. But because of Musk's controlling interest, finding him a "Sheryl Sandberg"-type COO to act as deputy has not been successful, Deagon said. He added: "What are \[Tesla board members\] doing about keeping Elon Musk under control?" For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/does-tesla-have-a-people-problem).

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