Former Tesla executive Drew Baglino has founded a new heat pump startup called Sadi Thermal Machines. This is his second company since leaving Tesla two years ago. Sadi Thermal Machines, founded in June 2025, is headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, sharing the location with Heron Power, another startup by Baglino that deals in solid-state transformers. The company’s name references physicist Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, foundational to thermodynamics. While little is publicly known about Sadi Thermal Machines, it reportedly employs several Tesla alumni, inferred from LinkedIn profiles and other sources.
TechCrunch couldn’t contact Baglino or Heron Power’s PR for comment. Prior to these ventures, Baglino’s nearly two-decade tenure at Tesla saw him work on projects like the Roadster, Powerwall, and Powerpack. Upon leaving in April 2024, he was a senior vice president in charge of core energy technologies, including electric motors and batteries. At Tesla, he also contributed to heat pump innovations and holds a patent related to a thermal management system for EVs, which laid the groundwork for Tesla’s “octovalve” system first used in the Model Y. This system efficiently regulates the temperature of key EV components.
In 2022, Tesla executives, including Baglino, discussed possible expansion into heat pumps for residential use, though Tesla hasn’t produced one yet. Baglino expressed interest in this area, suggesting that a residential heat pump aligns well with sustainable energy objectives, despite being less challenging than automotive applications. With Sadi Thermal Machines, Baglino seems set to explore this path further.