Tesla Makes China Chief Highest-Profile Executive After Musk

Tesla’s China division head, Tom Zhu, has been promoted to oversee direct management of the electric carmaker’s US assembly facilities as well as it’s North American and European sales activities.

According to an internal Tesla posting of reporting lines, Zhu’s title of vice president for Greater China remains unchanged. As of Tuesday, he was also the EV manufacturer’s most senior executive for sales in the rest of Asia.

After CEO Elon Musk, Zhu is now the company’s most visible executive. He will have direct control over Tesla’s deliveries in all of its primary markets, as well as the operations of its key manufacturing hubs.

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The reporting lines for Zhu would separate Tesla’s vehicle design and development, both of which Musk has been heavily involved in. They will also serve as Musk’s apparent deputy in dealing with the more immediate challenges of managing global sales and output.

Zhu’s promotion to global CEO comes at a time when Musk is preoccupied with his acquisition of social media giant Twitter. Tesla analysts and investors have urged Musk to take action to strengthen the senior executive bench and allow him to focus solely on Tesla.

The automaker reported record fourth-quarter electric vehicle production and deliveries on Monday. It delivered 405,278 vehicles in the December quarter, up from 308,600 in the same period in 2021. However, it fell short of Wall Street expectations due to logistics issues, slowing demand, rising interest rates, and recession fears.

Tesla’s stock dropped 65% in 2022, the company’s worst year since going public in 2010.

Troubleshooting EV Manufacturing Issues
According to the Tesla notice, the Tesla executives reporting to Zhu are Jason Shawhan, director of manufacturing at the Gigafactory in Texas; Hrushikesh Sagar, senior director of manufacturing at Tesla’s Fremont factory; Joe Ward, vice-president in charge of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Troy Jones, vice president of North America sales and service.

According to the notice, Tesla’s country managers in China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand continued to report to Zhu.

The promotion comes after Zhu was hired by Tesla late last year to help with production issues in the United States. That had fueled his colleagues’ expectations that he was being groomed for a bigger role.

Zhu was among hundreds of workers smiling on the factory floor when Tesla posted a picture on Twitter last month to celebrate its Austin, Texas, plant reaching a Model Y production milestone.

Zhu and his Shanghai team also paid a visit to Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant.

A manager who is uncomplicated

Zhu, who was born in China but now resides in New Zealand, began working for Tesla in 2014. Previously, he worked as a project manager for a company founded by his MBA classmates at Duke University, advising Chinese contractors on infrastructure projects in Africa.

During Shanghai’s two-month Covid lockdown, Zhu was among the first batch of employees who slept in the factory to keep it running.

The Shanghai Gigafactory rebounded strongly from recurring lockdowns under his leadership, bringing Tesla closer to its target of 50% production growth in 2022.

Zhu, a no-nonsense manager, wears Tesla-branded fleece jackets and lives in a government-subsidized apartment a 10-minute drive from the Shanghai plant. It was unclear whether he would relocate following his promotion.

He takes over Tesla’s main production hubs at a time when the company is preparing to launch its Cybertruck and a redesigned Model 3 sedan. Tesla has also stated that it is working on a lower-cost electric vehicle but has not provided any details.