Tesla Loses Engineer That Helped Bring Efficiency Boosting Heat Pump

When Tesla Inc TSLA released the Model Y, it came with a new feature that had never been seen in a Tesla vehicle: the heat pump. This replaced the resistive heater, which gave a huge efficiency boost to vehicles in colder climates. Tesla later brought this to the Model 3, also boosting efficiency for that vehicle.

Joseph Mardall, the Engineering Director from Tesla that was behind the heat pump, has left the company, CNBC first reported.

Mardall was with the company for 10 years but held the role of Engineering Director since April 2018. Mardall and other engineers at Tesla landed on the heat pump idea after working through other HVAC solutions. The heat pump is now being delivered to thousands of vehicles every month.

According to his LinkedIn, Mardall will be working at Zipline as the Head of Engineering. His work will involve autonomous drones used to deliver medical supplies.

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Photo courtesy of Tesla.