Tesla Engineering Director Joseph Mardall leaves for Zipline

An influential engineering director at Tesla, Joe Mardall, has resigned his job at the automaker to become director of engineering at Zipline, according to his own LinkedIn profile.

Zipline is a drone maker and aerial delivery service focused on distributing blood and other medical supplies.

Among his accomplishments during a decade at Tesla, Mardall led the development of a Model Y heat pump system, which was praised by CEO Elon Musk on Twitter, and led Tesla’s efforts to design a ventilator for people with Covid that could be produced using auto parts. (He never produced the fans.)

Prior to getting involved in the engineering of Tesla’s latest crossover SUV, the Model Y, Mardall also developed thermal and HVAC technologies that became defining features of the company’s early Model X and Model 3. His name appears on several Tesla patents.

According to Forge, a secondary market, Zipline is currently raising a Series E funding round with shares priced around $ 32.63, indicating a valuation north of $ 2 billion.

Mardall wrote in a public post on LinkedIn:

“After 10 wonderful years at Tesla, I am very excited to begin my next chapter as Chief Engineering Officer at Zipline, working with a talented and committed team of engineers to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies. The next 5 years will change everything and I can’t wait! We are recruiting for all roles in engineering and I would 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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