Autoblog

Late Friday evening, Tesla Motors issued a brief statement that company founder Martin Eberhard was transitioning from his management role as President to the company's advisory board. This announcement came barely a day after the announcement that Ze'ev Drori had been tapped to be the new CEO, taking the reins from interim boss Michael Marks. Drori is now also taking up Eberhard's title as President.

After the announcement it became clear that Eberhard did not relinquish his duties voluntarily. He is no longer even on the board of directors and the advisory board gig is at best ceremonial. The company isn't saying much, but in a posting on the Tesla Motors Club message board, Eberhard made it clear that it wasn't his choice to leave the company. A number of executives have apparently left the company in recent months as engineers have struggled to overcome transmission problems that have delayed the production launch of the Roadster. At the same time that they are trying to get their electric sports car into production, engineers are trying to finalize the specifications of their next product: the "WhiteStar" sedan.

While people are moving in and out of offices in San Carlos, Tesla is planning to have its first media drives with the print publications this week, while us on-line types will have to wait a few more weeks for our turn at the wheel.

[Source: Tesla Motors, Tesla Motors Club, via AutoblogGreen]