Tesla’s head of vehicle programs jumps to Waymo ahead of Robotaxi reveal

Tesla has lost a top executive to Waymo in the lead-up to the EV-maker’s Robotaxi unveiling on Thursday. 

Daniel Ho, Tesla’s former head of vehicle programs and new product integration, last week announced his new role as programs director at Waymo. 

Ho, who previously reported directly to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, oversaw the development and ramp of the Model Y and Cybertruck, launched new factories in Berlin and Texas, and grew production volume “from 0.5M to 1.85M cars per year” while setting the groundwork on the Robotaxi, according to his LinkedIn.

Ho joins Waymo as the autonomous vehicle company adds the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to its robotaxi lineup and gears up to scale its purpose-built Zeekr robotaxis.  

Daniel Zhang, one of Tesla’s top vehicle program managers who worked under Ho, also left Tesla recently, per a LinkedIn post.