Tesla CEO Elon Musk has fired the carmaker's vice president of manufacturing and operations following a falloff in auto sales in the nation's largest markets this year.

The departure of Afshar, who oversaw sales and manufacturing in North America and Europe, comes as Tesla struggles with declining global sales.

Mr Afshar has worked for Tesla since 2017, starting in the office of the chief executive, before overseeing the construction of its vast “Giga Texas” manufacturing plant in Austin from 2020.