Former Tesla Executive Establishes Heat Pump Startup, Attracts Several Ex-Tesla Employees

It is reported that former Tesla executive Drew Baglino has quietly founded a heat pump startup company.

This marks the second venture Baglino has established within two years of leaving Tesla in 2024. Sources have confirmed the existence of this company, named Sadi Thermal Machines.

According to registration documents, Sadi was incorporated in June 2025 and is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, sharing office space with another of Baglino's companies, Heron Power. Heron Power focuses on the solid-state transformer business.

The company's name is a clear homage to French physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, a founder of thermodynamics whose research laid the theoretical groundwork for internal combustion engines and heat pump technology. Public information on Sadi is currently limited, but LinkedIn profiles and informed sources reveal that several former Tesla employees have already joined the team.

Before founding Heron Power and Sadi, Baglino spent nearly two decades at Tesla, deeply involved in the development of the full product range from the original Roadster sports car to the Powerwall home battery and Powerpack energy storage systems. By the time of his departure in April 2024, he had risen to the position of Senior Vice President, overseeing the development of core energy technologies including electric motors, batteries, and power electronics.

During his tenure, Baglino led the development of Tesla's heat pump system and was one of the inventors on a patent for a dual-cooling-loop thermal management system. This system uses independent loops to cool the battery and powertrain components separately, working in conjunction with three-way and four-way valves developed by the team to achieve precise temperature control for multiple vehicle components.

This system can recover waste heat from the drive motor to preheat the battery in low-temperature environments, ensuring fast-charging performance. Its design philosophy formed the technical foundation for Tesla's first "Octovalve" heat pump system, initially deployed in the Model Y. This system, roughly the size of a suitcase, can simultaneously manage the temperature of the cabin, battery, and motor.