Lyndon Rive — SolarCity founder, former chief executive officer and first cousin to Tesla CEO Elon Musk has decided to depart the electric automaker in June later this year. According to Reuters, Rive is quitting the company to spend more quality time with his family and focus on starting another new venture in the coming year.
Speaking on his decision, Rive in a statement said that SolarCity is now healthier than ever and is growing stupendously. He is of the opinion that it is now the right moment for him to pass on his responsibilities and tackle something new for the betterment of this society. Further, he continues to add,
My skill set and what I love doing is starting and running companies. I can hand off the baton to somebody else and give myself the opportunity to do something else that could also have another impact.
Rive is currently serving as the head of sales and services for Tesla Energy, which now also merges SolarCity’s business that was acquired for $2.6 billion earlier last year. Post his departure, the electric automaker is not planning to scout for an immediate replacement.
In an official statement, a Tesla spokesperson not only confirmed his exit but also stated that his role and responsibilities will be absorbed within the company’s leadership at the moment. The sales are an integral part of SolarCity, who’s just recently opened pre-orders for its sleek and modern solar roof tiles. Thus, Tesla vice president of global infrastructure operations, Cal Lankton, will take over Rive’s role as the head of sales and operations for energy products.
Speaking on his departure, Tesla released the said statement:
Lyndon Rive co-founded SolarCity 11 years ago and built it into the No. 1 solar provider in the nation. Thanks in large part to the foundation Lyndon helped create, Tesla has now built the world’s first integrated sustainable energy company, from generation to storage to transportation.
The plan for starting SolarCity, for those unaware, was birthed nearly a decade ago when Lyndon Rive, his older brother Peter and Musk were visiting Burning Man arts festival in the Nevada desert. The solar panel and sustainable energy company were set up by the Rive brothers back in 2006 with backing from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is the biggest shareholder with a 22 percent stake. It was immediately unclear but Peter Rive, SolarCity’s chief technology officer will continue to focus on the solar roofs at Tesla.
The marrying of the largest electric vehicle maker — Tesla and the largest solar panel installation company — SolarCity last year has resulted in the creation of the largest sustainable energy empire of the United States. Their effort now is to insistently curb demand and use of fossil fuels to combat climate change. SolarCity has presently slowed down door-to-door installations and is now focused on new, profitable solar roofing projects across the globe. Musk has even bet that Tesla can solar power South Australia within 100 days, else the installation will be free.
