Low angle view of Tesla Motors branded frontage with logo and sign in Pleasanton, California, July 23, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images)
Smith / Gado Collection
Tesla’s influential director of engineering, Joe Mardall, has retired at the automaker to become Zipline’s head of engineering, according to his own LinkedIn profile.
Zipline is a manufacturer of drone and air delivery service that focuses on blood circulation and other medical products.
Among his achievements during Tesla’s ten years, Mardall led the development of the Model Y Heat Pump system, proposed by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter, and led Tesla’s efforts to make an engineer for Covid victims that could be brought to life. result by using car parts. (He never took the air conditioners.)
Prior to being involved in the engineering of Tesla’s latest crossover SUV, the Model Y, Mardall developed thermal and HVAC technologies that came to define features in the company’s earlier Model X and Model 3 vehicles. It is named after many Tesla patents.
According to Forge, a secondary market place, Zipline is currently building a Series E financing round with shares priced around $ 32.63, showing a valuation north of $ 2 billion.
Mardall wrote in a public post on LinkedIn:
“After an amazing 10 years at Tesla, I am excited to begin my next chapter as Head of Engineering at Zipline, working with a team of talented and dedicated engineers to give everyone on Earth instant access to essential medical supplies . The next 5 years are going to change everything and I can’t wait! We’re hiring for all positions across engineering and I’d 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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