Low-angle view of Tesla Motors dealership facade with logo and sign in Pleasanton, California, July 23, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images)
Smith Collection / Gado
An influential engineering director at Tesla, Joe Mardall, has resigned from his job at the automaker to become head of engineering at Zipline, according to his own LinkedIn profile.
Zipline is a bumblebee and delivery service focused on the distribution of blood and other medical supplies.
Among his achievements over a decade at Tesla, Mardall led the development of a Model Y heat pump system, praised on Twitter by CEO Elon Musk, and led Tesla’s efforts to become a fan for Covid sufferers. to design that can be manufactured with auto parts. (It never manufactured the fans.)
Before being involved in the construction of Tesla’s latest crossover SUV, the Model Y, Mardall also developed thermal and HVAC technologies that became defining features in the company’s earlier Model X and Model 3 vehicles. His name is on several Tesla patents.
According to Forge, a secondary market, Zipline has currently raised a range of E-financing with shares of about $ 32.63, indicating a valuation of less than $ 2 billion.
Mardall wrote in a public post on LinkedIn:
“After ten amazing years at Tesla, I am very excited to begin my next chapter as Head of Engineering at Zipline, working with a team of talented and dedicated engineers to provide every person on earth with instant access to important medical supplies. The next 5 years are going to change everything and I can not wait! We hire for all roles in engineering and I would love to hear from you – come fly with me! “
Mardall did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
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