Former Tesla VP moves to The Mobility House

Diarmuid O’Connell, former VP of Corporate Development for Tesla, has joined The Mobility House’s Board of Directors. O’Connell’s role will be to support the automotive industry and drive strategic growth in the US.

O’Connell had left Tesla in September 2017 – the time when Tesla was in “production hell” with the ramp-up of Model 3 production. O’Connell joined Tesla in 2006 and was one of the company’s longest-serving managers until his retirement. Reasons for his departure were not given at the time.

O’Connell already had contact with The Mobility House (TMH) during his Tesla period: The service provider worked with Tesla in 2012 when the Californians launched their Supercharger network in Europe. TMH integrates vehicle batteries into power grids using intelligent charging, power and storage solutions. The company was founded in 2009 and serves over 10 countries internationally from its locations in Munich, Zurich and Sunnyvale in the USA.

With his new employer, O’Connell will use his expertise in electromobility and the marketing of electric cars to help the company “strengthen its competencies in the automotive sector”. Although not specified in the company’s press release, one might expect that with its US focus, O’Connell will probably work from the TMH site in Sunnyvale, California.

The Mobility House is enthusiastic the new board member: “As an expert on the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley, he accompanied Tesla on his way from start-up to a global player in the development of electric vehicles and energy services. He played a key role in the key deals the automaker has made in recent years, from the purchase of the California factory to the construction of a gigantic battery plant in Nevada.”

O’Connell himself is also very positive. “I see great potential in the company’s vision to integrate vehicles into the power grid and to strengthen the company’s position in a market where the energy and automotive industries will seamlessly merge in the future,” O’Connell said. The Mobility House’s “solid technology expertise” has also convinced him to “invest personally”. However, the press release from The Mobility House has not indicated what share the ex-Tesla board will take over.

Source: Press release via email.