The move makes Zhu the highest-profile executive at Tesla after Elon Musk, with oversight for deliveries in all of its major markets and all of its production outside the still-ramping Tesla plant in Germany. — Reuters
SHANGHAI: Tesla Inc’s China chief Tom Zhu has been promoted to take charge of the electric carmaker’s US assembly plants as well as sales operations in North America and Europe, according to an internal posting of reporting lines reviewed by Reuters.
The Tesla posting showed that Zhu’s title had not changed and that he also retained his responsibilities as Tesla’s most senior executive for China and sales in the rest of Asia as of yesterday, in addition to the expanded role.
The move makes Zhu the highest-profile executive at Tesla after Elon Musk, with oversight for deliveries in all of its major markets and all of its production outside the still-ramping Tesla plant in Germany.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Reuters reviewed the organisational chart that had been posted internally by Tesla and confirmed the change with two people who had seen it. They asked not to be named because they were not authorised to discuss the matter.
Zhu and a team of his were brought in by Tesla late last year to troubleshoot production issues in the United States, driving an expectation among his colleagues then that he was being groomed for a bigger role.
Zhu’s appointment to a global role comes at a time when Musk has been distracted by his acquisition of Twitter and Tesla analysts and investors have urged action that would deepen the senior executive bench and allow him to focus on Tesla.
Under Zhu, Tesla’s Shanghai plant rebounded strongly from Covid lockdowns in China.
The Tesla managers reporting to Zhu include 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 Tesla notice on reporting lines reviewed by Reuters.
Tesla country managers in China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand continued to report to Zhu, the notice showed.
Zhu, a no-fuss manager who sports a buzz cut, favours Tesla-branded fleece jackets and has lived in a government-subsidised apartment that is a 10-minute drive from the Shanghai Gigafactory. — Reuters
