Tesla Loses Roadster Chief Engineer Behind Several Important Vehicle Programs Alan Clarke to Ford

Tesla has recently lost Alan Clarke, the executive responsible for its new car project. He had been responsible for multiple important Tesla vehicle programs and has now joined Ford’s electric vehicle team.

Clarke had worked at Tesla for over a decade, starting as a senior design engineer in 2009, and was involved in several projects, including the iconic Model S door handles.

On his LinkedIn page, he listed some of his project experience at Tesla, including:

• Model X – advanced engineering, front and rear drive system integration, high-voltage distribution integration, and manufacturing of all vehicle door and body panels.
• Mechanical design of the Model S battery case – design and development of aluminum structure and steel covers, including castings, extrusions, and stampings, as well as multiple joining and sealing techniques.
• The design of the front and rear suspension and steering systems, including Catia kinematic modeling for the Model S.
• Model S complete vehicle kit responsible – driving integration solutions.
• Model S exterior door handle concept mechanism and the first prototype design.

Clarke was quickly promoted to director of new project engineering and held this position at Tesla for the last four years before leaving.

In this role, he led several important projects at Tesla, including “Roadster Chief Engineer,” vehicle architectures for Model 3 and Model Y, and engineering development for Cybertruck. Additionally, he was one of the inventors of the Cybertruck’s scalable solar panel patents.

After more than a decade at Tesla, he announced this week that he has accepted a position on Ford’s senior electric vehicle development team. He will be working alongside Doug Field, who also served as a top engineering executive at Tesla for many years before working at Apple and returning to Ford.

While this is a significant loss for Tesla, it may be a good thing for the automotive industry as a whole, as the movement of such technological talent to traditional automakers can better promote the development of electric vehicle technology in the long run. Ford now has several former top Tesla engineers with valuable experience in electric vehicle development from research and development to mass production, which will greatly benefit the development of Ford’s electric vehicles.

🔗 Source: electrek

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.