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Former Tesla engineering lead Doug Field is back with Apple
Tesla confirmed in July that instead of returning from a six-week break, senior engineering VP Doug Field had departed the company. The timing was interesting as it came during Tesla's push to ramp up production of the Model 3 sedan, which was the kind of issue we'd expected Field to address after he joined in 2013. Whatever the reasons for his split from Tesla, Daring Fireball writer John Gruber has confirmed with Apple PR that Field is back with the company he left five years ago. Going a step further, Gruber said that he has heard from sources that instead of returning to Mac engineering, Field is working on Apple's rebooted Project Titan vehicle team -- a move that could suggest it has bigger plans than just an add-on self-driving car kit. Normally, we'd be on alert for a snarky tweet or two from Elon Musk about the shift (three years ago he told a German paper "If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple" before apologizing) but he might be distracted by the SEC at the moment.
Tesla engineering lead Doug Field leaves the company
Tesla's news isn't all positive now that it has met its Model 3 production milestone. The company has confirmed to Bloomberg that senior engineering VP Doug Field has left the company. It's not clear why Field left or who his replacement will be. However, he was supposed to be returning from a six-week leave to spend time with family -- whatever the reasons, that break wasn't enough to keep him as an employee.
Tesla engineering lead takes break amid Model 3 production issues
Tesla is facing a tough time: it's racing to improve production of the Model 3 not just to catch up on its backlog, but to avoid serious damage to its bottom line. It's slightly unusual, then, that one of the EV maker's key executives is taking a break from it all. The company has confirmed that Senior VP Doug Field, the head of engineering, is "taking some time off to recharge" (yes, Tesla said that) and "spend time with his family." It stressed that Field "has not left" the team. There's no official word on how long Field will be away, but Wall Street Journal sources described the leave as a "six-week sabbatical."
Tesla hires former Segway, Apple hardware engineering lead to develop new cars
So what's next for Tesla? Company founder and CEO Elon Musk has publicly stated his desire to make a more affordable EV plus cars that (mostly) drive themselves, and new hire Doug Field is in position to lead that charge. Joining Tesla as the Vice President of Vehicle Programs, he will be "responsible for driving development of new vehicles." We'll have to wait and see what those new Teslas look like, but his resume immediately shows why Musk is interested in someone with his experience. Field began his career as an engineer at Ford and later served as the CTO of Segway before moving over to Apple in 2008, where he's been the VP of Mac Hardware Engineering leading development on the Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and iMac.
Apple VP of Product Design Doug Fields set to take on new gig at Tesla
Tesla announced today that it recently hired Doug Field, a former VP of Product Design at Apple. If you recall, Field originally joined Apple back in 2008. Prior to that, he served as the CTO at Segway. A press release from Tesla notes that Field, during his tenure at Apple, helped develop a number of Mac-based hardware products, including, but not limited to, the most recent iterations of the MacBook Pro and iMac. Commenting on his new role at Tesla, Field explains: Until Tesla came along, I had never seriously considered leaving Apple. I started my career with the goal of creating incredible cars, but ultimately left the auto industry in search of fast-paced, exciting engineering challenges elsewhere. As the first high-tech auto company in modern history, Tesla is at last an opportunity for me and many others to pursue the dream of building the best cars in the world-while being part of one of the most innovative companies in Silicon Valley. Indeed, Tesla folks often exclaim that the company is more of a tech company than an old-fashioned car company. At Tesla, Field will serve as the company's VP of Vehicle Programs where he'll help spearhead development on new vehicles.
Segway CTO becoming VP of Apple product design -- yes, really
Yeah, we're surprised to hear it too. Nevertheless, word coming out of the SegwayChat forums has Doug Field, Chief Technology Officer at Segway, heading to Apple as VP of product design. What makes the move oh so interesting is the history between Jobs and Field. See, back in the early days, when Segway was still Ginger and Dean Kamen was harvesting pre-launch industry reactions, Kamen brought the people mover to Steve Jobs. El Jobso's reaction to Field's design is the stuff of Harvard Business school legend: "I think it sucks," said Jobs, "Its shape is not innovative, it's not elegant, and it doesn't feel anthropomorphic." How times do change. Read -- Doug Field joining AppleRead -- Steve Jobs' thoughts on Segway design
