The timing could not be worse.
Tesla Motors, facing a crucial earnings test after the bell Wednesday, announced that two of its executives left the company earlier in the day.
Greg Reichow, VP of Production, and John Ensign, VP of manufacturing, both resigned from the company. Tesla's CEO praised the two, while vowing to keep the company on track.
Meanwhile, Tesla investors, who have been an extremely optimistic lot, are watching the company closely for the earning numbers; not so much for profit/loss (expect a pretty sizeable loss), but for current and future car sales. The Model S has been strong, the Model X is still something of a question mark, and orders for the Model 3 were through the roof - investors will be looking for clues as to whether or not the company can deliver on that optimism.
As I write, shares of Tesla stock (TSLA) are down about 4 1/2 percent, dipping after the departure news got out.
Scott tracks Tesla on Twitter: @scottbudman
