FILE PHOTO: Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (L) welcomes Tesla Vice President of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell to the state by presenting him with a vanity license plate, in Carson City, Nevada September 11, 2014. REUTERS/Steve Keegan

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Wednesday that long-time executive Diarmuid O’Connell, vice president of business development, had left after more than a decade at the electric car company.

“For more than 11 years, Diarmuid has played an important role in helping Tesla grow from a small startup to a company with a presence around the world,” Tesla said in a statement. “He started with Tesla before the rollout of Roadster, and now that we’ve reached the launch of Model 3, he felt the time was right to move on and spend more time with his family.”

O’Connell’s responsibilities, which included government relations, will now be taken over by Tesla’s president of global sales and service, Jon McNeill, the company said.